Ethel celebrates 116th birthday – and officially being the world's oldest person

THE oldest living person in the world, UK woman Ethel Caterham, has celebrated her 116th birthday.

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Ethel, who lives in a care home in Surrey, became the world's oldest living person in April following the death of Sister Inah Canbarro Lucas in Brazil.

Ethel, the last surviving citizen of King Edward VII, was born on August 21, 1909 - three years before the Titanic sank and eight years before the Russian Revolution.

Ethel has witnessed four coronations, lived through two world wars and survived the Covid pandemic. She has lived in Surrey for more than 50 years and currently lives in a care home in Lightwater where she even has a garden named after her.

Born on August 21, 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Ethel was raised in nearby Tidworth as the second youngest of eight children. Turning 18 in 1927, she travelled alone by ship for three weeks to India to become an au pair to a military family in the region.