A British woman has become the oldest person in the world following the death of a nun, who survived two World Wars – and was blessed by Pope Francis.
Born on June 8, 1908, in Brazil, Inah Canabarro Lucas died on Wednesday at the age of 116.
She had become the world’s oldest person in January after the passing of 116-year-old Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka.
Title handed over to British super-centenarian
Her death now means that the title is handed over to Ethel May Caterham, who lives in Surrey.
Born on August 21, 1909, in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Ethel is now 115 and is thought to be the last surviving subject of Edward VII.
The super-centenarian – a person who is aged 110 or older – is the very last known living person to be born in the 1900s decade.
Upon turning 115 last year, she became only the third British person to ever reach this age, and the first since Annie Jennings over two decades earlier in 1999.
At the age of 18, Ethel was employed as an au pair to a military family in India where she lived for three years.
She returned to the UK in 1931 and met her future husband Norman at a dinner party.
They married at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933 where her husband had been a choirboy.
He later became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps, and the couple lived in Harnham before being stationed in Hong Kong and later Gibraltar.
While living in Hong Kong, Ethel set up a nursery to teach English, and in Gibraltar, the couple had two daughters who they raised back in England.
She has been living in a care home in Lightwater where she celebrated her last birthday with family and friends.
Key to Ethel’s longevity
The soon-to-be 116-year-old has a large family, with three granddaughters and five great grandchildren.
They attribute her longevity to a life of resilience and adaptability.
The Gerontology Research Group and LongeviQuest have both verified her age and status.
Laws still in place in 1909 that have since been abolished
Ethel was born at a time when capital punishment was still widely used for crimes like murder and treason in the UK.
It was also illegal to be drunk while in charge of a horse, cow – or a steam engine.
Most importantly, women were not permitted to vote in parliamentary elections and had nearly no rights to property and legal independence.
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