Britain’s only identical quadruplets, who have 64 million to one odds of being born, are preparing to celebrate their 18th birthday and go their separate ways for the first time
A pair of identical quadruplets who beat the odds to even be born turn 18 — and are about to break up for the first time.
Doctors told Jose and Julie Carles, from Upper Caldecote, Bedfordshire, that they were more likely to win the lottery than for all four of their babies to live.
But 18 years later, Ellie, Georgie, Jessica and Holly are happy and healthy now as adults. The four siblings were born just minutes apart on March 23, 2006.
The sisters are planning a quiet meal with their dad Jose, 51, and mum Julie, 55, to celebrate their 18th birthday – and their parents have revealed they all have different plans for the future.
Jose said: “Georgie and Ellie are currently doing their A-levels. Georgie has been offered a place to study at the University of Creative Arts, but she may defer for a year and travel with Ellie.
‘Jess and Holly both have another year of college left. I think they will miss each other, but they will enjoy the freedom. They will always have each other.’
Identical quadruplets (L-R) Holly, Jess, Georgie and Ellie who beat the odds to even be born are turning 18 – and about to be separated for the first time
Julie and Jose went for an 11-week ultrasound after discovering they were pregnant in September 2005.
They discovered they were having quadruplets and that they were monochorionic, in which babies depend on a shared placenta.
Julie, a regional operations manager, said: ‘Initially the sonographer said it was unlikely they would survive.
‘We were traumatized and upset by the situation we found ourselves in. He told us we had a better chance of winning the lottery.
“This weekend we did some research and accepted it, it felt like we were given a gift. I was a healthy 37 year old. We knew we had to keep doing it.”
Julie was admitted to Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London for a check-up when she was 23 weeks old.
She said: “It was very difficult, it was the first time Jose and I had ever been away from each other.
Georgie, Holly, Ellie and Jess pictured when they were just two years old. Doctors told Jose and Julie Carles from Upper Caldecote, Bedfordshire, that they were more likely to win the lottery than for all four of their babies to live
The foursome were born a few minutes apart on March 23, 2006 (photo on their third birthday)
The sisters plan a quiet meal with their dad Jose (pictured right), 51, and mum Julie (pictured left), 55, to celebrate their 18th birthdays – and their parents have revealed they all have different plans for the future
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly Carles were born just minutes apart, between 2:16pm and 2:19pm – weighing 2lb 8oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb and 1lb 9oz respectively (pictured at their fifth birthday)
‘I got bigger and bigger and the pressure on the body became more and more intense.’
The youngsters caused a sensation when they were born to Julie and husband Jose on March 23, 2006, at odds of 64 million to one.
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly Carles arrived minutes apart, between 2:16pm and 2:19pm – weighing 2lb 8oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lbs and 1lbs 9oz respectively.
Julie said: ‘I had a caesarean section and it felt like it took about five minutes in total, it went very quickly. They were taken straight to the NICU for eight weeks. The first few days were crucial, but they were so well looked after.
“Once they were out of danger they were transferred to Lister Hospital in Stevenage until we could get them home.”
The day Julie and Jose were able to bring the girls home was the “best day of their lives.” Julie said Georgie was the first at nine months old.
The sisters’ parents revealed the girls’ plans for the future, saying they are all doing their own thing (pictured at age 16)
The sisters, LR Jess, Holly Georgie and Ellie, grew up very close. Pictured at the age of 12
Ellie, Holly, Georgie and Jess will celebrate their 18th birthday on March 23, 2024
Ellie, Georgie, Jess and Holly plan a simple meal with their parents to celebrate the day
She said: ‘When one of them does something that the rest would copy, Jess was the last of them walking and talking.
“I remember their first day of kindergarten, they loved it and didn’t worry about me.
“Teachers had the preschoolers put their initials on their collars because they would get them mixed up.”
When it came to starting school, Julie and Jose said they worried they wouldn’t make new friends as they would normally stick together. But Julie said they “thrived” because they were all placed in different classes.
She said: ‘They were happy to be separated, they left and their personalities developed. When they got to high school they put them in pairs, which wasn’t ideal at all.
“That’s the moment you break away from your family, but that didn’t happen because they were together.”
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly will celebrate their 18th birthday on March 23, 2024.
Julie said: “The fact that they are turning 18 makes us very proud. It’s not often you can look back on what you’ve done in recent years.
“It’s only when someone points it out that we say, ‘oh my god’, what we’ve done is amazing.”
She added: “The girls asked us to go to dinner and then they asked us to take them to a concert.
‘They didn’t really ask for much to be honest, we’re going to celebrate the day as a family. We are a very close family.’