When someone lives to an extraordinary age, everyone wants to know their secret.

While most often it’s attributed to a special diet or drink hyped up in the media, 116-year-old Ethel Caterham has a different secret.

And she believes it helped her become the world’s oldest woman.

Born in 1909

At 116 years old, Ethel Caterham has officially become the oldest living person in the world — a title confirmed by Guinness World Records and LongeviQuest, the global database tracking supercentenarians.

But her story is more than a number. Ethel has witnessed history firsthand: the sinking of the Titanic, two World Wars, the first moon landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the rise of the internet and the iPhone and TikTok.

Born on August 21, 1909, in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Ethel grew up in Tidworth, Wiltshire, as the second youngest of eight children.

Remarkably, longevity runs in the family: one of her sisters, Gladys, lived to 104.

By 18, Ethel had already set out on an extraordinary adventure, working as an au pair for a military family in British India.

Ethel recalled being served by household staff and experiencing a blend of British and Indian traditions, from Christmas celebrations to enjoying Tiffin and Tea. She spent four years working as a nanny in both India and the UK before meeting her future husband, Norman Caterham, a British Army major, at a dinner party in 1931.

The couple married in 1933 at Salisbury Cathedral, where Norman had once been a choirboy. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps. They first lived in Harnham near Salisbury before postings took them to Hong Kong and Gibraltar. While in Hong Kong, Ethel founded a nursery for local and British children, teaching English, games, and crafts.

In Gibraltar, the couple started their family and later returned to Surrey, raising two daughters, Gem and Anne. Norman passed away in 1976.

A life filled with milestones — and surprises

Ethel has survived extraordinary challenges. In 2020, at the age of 110, she contracted Covid-19 — a disease particularly dangerous for the elderly — and made a full recovery.

Her secret to living such a long life?

“Never arguing with anyone. I listen and I do what I like,” she told the BBC. Simple, yet powerful advice from someone who has truly mastered the art of living.

A historic record

Ethel’s longevity has not gone unnoticed. She became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom in 2022 and, following the death of Brazil’s Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas in April 2025, she became the world’s oldest verified person.

On her 115th birthday, King Charles III sent her a congratulatory letter, praising her “truly remarkable milestone” and sending his “warmest good wishes.” By her 116th birthday in August 2025, she had even exchanged pleasantries with the king in person, recalling his investiture in 1969.

On 21 August 2025, she marked her 116th birthday, becoming the first British person ever to reach that age.