April 23, 2005
Now give us our prince
Britian was yesterday urged to repatriate the remains of a teenage Ethiopian prince more than 125 years after he died lonely and homesick in Leeds.
Netsanet Asfaw, Ethiopia's state minister for information, called on the UK to hand back the body of Prince Alamayou, currently buried in the crypt of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.
The minister said the return would trump Italy's recent decision to restore an ancient obelisk looted by its troops during their invasion of the country in 1937.
"I am saying this as a mother," she told reporters. "People say Prince Alamayou died of pneumonia. But I always think it was because he missed his mother."
Prince Alamayou was taken from his country at the age of seven after
Britian's defeat of his father Emperor Tewodros (Theodore) after the
battles of Aroge and Magdala in 1868. (See more on Afromet.org). He first travelled around the Far East under the protection of Captian Tristram Speedy, a British
intelligence officer.
He was later educated in Rugby, then Sandhurst, before dieing at the age of 18 in 1879.
Through his time in the UK he became a great favourite of Queen Victoria who called him "a poor little boy, a dear, gentle, pretty, intelligent little darling of seven years old" after first meeting him. But, over the years, he frequently showed signs of being deeply depressed (see pic).
"He had a hankering after his old country where he said he had two aunts and a half brother living," Sir Stafford Northcote wrote a month before he died. "I told him that his going to Abyssinia was out of the question..."
Posted by aheavens at April 23, 2005 5:19 AM
Comments
i never heard of this story in my life before...its very interesting though. europeans did really robbbbbbbbbb us.
Posted by: Yordanos at April 23, 2005 4:18 PM
It's time to bring him back.
Posted by: ak at April 24, 2005 7:17 PM
Hey Britain never defeat Atse Tewodros. The hero took hislife before the Britain hold him in life! I wanted to say something befor you twisted the real story! For your information Atse Tewodros took his life on Mekdela mountain!
Posted by: danny at May 1, 2005 9:20 AM
You are right that Tewodros did take his life before the British troops got to him. But that does not add up to a victory. He committed suicide after the combined British-Indian troops had defeated his forces on Aroge plateau (losses: Ethiopian about 5,000; British 2 after the battle from injuries). His artillery did not hit a single target. By the time he died, everyone else, except for a handful of faithful supporters, had deserted. The only reason the British troops had been allowed to march so far into Ethiopia to get to him was that practically every other leader in the country had rebelled against him. The British then looted Magdala, burned it to the ground then handed it over to one of Tewodros' most bitter enemies. I would say that adds up to a decisive defeat.
Posted by: andrew at May 1, 2005 10:17 AM
Am happy that i hard this story about hi son and also because i have a hero i got in this website because we have a project in school we were told to look for a hero we love i was looking for this kind of story suddenly i found and am happy
Posted by: Elisabeth Gebriel assefa at November 24, 2005 5:14 PM
i am happy to hear that.finally our president has done somthing for us.nice thing to hear
i am hopefull that the remaining will come home soon.may be for the millenium.i am looking forward to finally see the prince alemayehu come home.
Posted by: abubeker at June 3, 2007 5:57 PM
when is england gonne stop stealing staffs from ethiopia? i am saying this not because i am ethiopian just because the truth set you free so please ingland stop what you doing now.
Posted by: rebecca at June 25, 2007 6:30 PM
IF THERE WAS A MAN WHO IS REALLY ETHIOPIAN AND A MAN WHOM ETHIOPA ACCEPT AS HER SON IS ATSE TEWODROS/1 FOR HIS MOMY/.
Posted by: TAD at August 28, 2008 8:04 PM