Who is Ethel Caterham, the new dean of the 115 -year -old humanity?

Born on August 21, 1909 in a village in Hampshire, in the south of England, Ethel Caterham, 115, is now the dean of humanity, according to the research group in the United States gerontology (GRG) and the database Longeviques, after the death Wednesday April 30, 2025 of the Brazilian nun Inah Canabar Lucas at the age of 116.

Ethel Caterham, who lives in a retirement home in Surrey, after having survived her husband and two daughters, is the last living subject of King Édouard VII, whose reign ended in 1910. She is also the oldest Briton of all time, according to the Oldest in Britain database. For his 115^e Anniversary, which she celebrated in August 2024, she received a letter from King Charles III congratulating her to have reached this “Remarkable step”.

“I do what I want”

The secret of its longevity? “I never argue with anyone!” I listen and I do what I want “she said on this occasion. The new dean of humanity currently has three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

At the age of 18, Ethel Caterham went alone to India to work as a young girl with a family of soldiers, after a three -week boat trip. Shortly after her return, she met her future husband, the soldier Norman Caterham, and they got married in 1933. The couple lived in Hong Kong and Gibraltar before returning to England.

She survived COVVI-19

Her husband died in 1976, aged around sixty years, now almost half a century ago. Ethel Caterham continued to drive up to almost a hundred years old and play bridge until advanced age. She even survived a covid-19 infection in 2020, according to the Telegraph.

The same year, she had entrusted to the BBC to have “Everything taken with philosophy, the ups like the stockings During his long life, rejoicing to have been able to “Traveling all over the world”. She also entrusted to the Salisbury Journal that it was essential to “Seize every opportunity”, “to have a positive mental attitude and consume everything in moderation”.