Ethel Caterham was born on 21 August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, and is the world's oldest living person at 116. She is the last surviving subject of Edward VII and was born five years before the first world war as the second youngest of eight siblings. She became the oldest living person in April after the death of Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas at 116. She lives at a care home in Lightwater, Surrey, and will celebrate quietly with family. She was widowed in 1976 after marrying Norman, a British army major whom she met in 1931; they were stationed in Hong Kong and Gibraltar and had two children. A care home spokesperson said the family is grateful for kind messages and that she prefers no interviews.
Ethel Caterham, the last surviving Edwardian and the world's oldest living person, celebrated her 116th birthday on Thursday. She was born on 21 August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, when Herbert Asquith was prime minister, Beatrix Potter had just published The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and one of the bestselling songs was Shine on Harvest Moon. Caterham is the last surviving subject of Edward VII, who died on 6 May 1910.
The Edwardian era was described by the American writer Samuel Hynes as a leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun never set on the British flag. Caterham became the oldest living person in April after the death of Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun, at 116.
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