NEED TO KNOW
- King Charles met 116-year-old Ethel Caterham, the world’s oldest living person
- Caterham recalled how “all the girls were in love with you and wanted to marry you,” prompting a chuckle from the monarch
- She also had birthday cards from King Charles and Queen Elizabeth displayed
King Charles had a memorable meeting with the world’s oldest living person, who made the monarch blush with her candid recollections.
The King, 76, traveled to Surrey on Sept. 18 to meet 116-year-old Ethel Caterham, who became the world’s oldest living person in April following the death of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was also 116.
Caterham recently marked her birthday in August, revealing at the time that she would have traded her quiet family celebrations for a meeting with the King, and he went to meet her just weeks later.
During their visit, Caterham told King Charles that she recalled when Queen Elizabeth invested him as the Prince of Wales in 1969 when he was 21, saying, “I remember when your mother crowned you in Caernarfon Castle,” delighting the monarch.
Caterham then added, “And all the girls were in love with you and wanted to marry you,” prompting a laugh from the King.
One of her granddaughters, Kate Henderson, added: “You were saying that the other day, weren’t you? You said, ‘Prince Charles was so handsome. All the girls were in love with him.’ A true prince – and now the King.”
The sovereign humbly responded, “Yes, well, all that’s left of him anyway.”
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Displayed next to Caterham were birthday cards from King Charles as well as Queen Elizabeth. According to the U.K. government, residents can receive special messages from the monarch for milestone occasions, including birthdays (for the 100th and 105th birthdays, then every year after). The custom dates back to 1917 when King George V began sending telegrams to centenarians.
During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, approximately 1.3 million cards were sent to mark birthdays and anniversaries across the U.K., the Realms and the overseas territories, per Buckingham Palace.
King Charles continued the tradition shortly after his accession, sending the first round of birthday cards from the palace shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022. The cards feature a portrait of King Charles and Queen Camilla with a short note and their signatures.
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