Livity.Blog | Hidden Histories. Ancestral Intelligence.
In the shadow of empire lies the untold story of a young African royal—Prince Alemayehu Tewodros—torn from his homeland, exiled to a foreign kingdom, and buried beneath the soil of an empire that helped destroy his world.
This is not just the story of a boy. It is the story of colonization, cultural theft, and a grief that echoes across generations.
🌄 Alemayehu, Son of the Mountain King
Prince Alemayehu was born in 1861, the only son of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, a fierce and visionary ruler determined to modernize and unify his kingdom. Tewodros was no puppet of empire. He resisted European intrusion with strategy and fire—and for that, he was marked.
In 1868, the British launched the Abyssinian Expedition to Maqdala, Tewodros’s mountain fortress. After refusing to surrender to British demands, Emperor Tewodros took his own life. His young son, Alemayehu, just 7 years old, was captured and removed from Ethiopia, along with his mother, Empress Tiruwork Wube, who died shortly after their journey began.
The boy prince was orphaned, displaced, and made a ward of the British Empire.
🏰 A Crown in Chains: Alemayehu in England
In a performative gesture of mercy, Queen Victoria agreed to sponsor the prince’s care. He was placed under the supervision of Captain Tristram Speedy, the very man who led British operations in Maqdala and oversaw the looting of the Ethiopian royal court.
In England, Alemayehu lived a life of contradiction—educated, dressed, and groomed like an English aristocrat, yet treated as an exotic curiosity by the very society that destroyed his home. He was isolated, ridiculed, and deeply unhappy, longing for his homeland and culture.
According to Queen Victoria’s journals, Alemayehu’s sadness was visible. She wrote:
“It is too sad! All alone in a strange country, without a single person or relative belonging to him… constantly ill, and with no one to understand or care for him properly.”
— Queen Victoria’s diary, 1879
⚰️ A Death Far from Home
At the age of 18, Prince Alemayehu died of pleurisy on November 14, 1879—still a royal in title, but stateless in life.
He was buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, one of the holiest sites in the British monarchy. His body, to this day, remains interred there—despite numerous appeals from Ethiopia for his repatriation.
The British government has refused to return his remains, citing concerns over “disturbing the Royal Chapel grounds.” But the injustice runs deeper.
Captain Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy took in the orphaned prince (Image: Getty)
💰 The Plunder of Maqdala: Ethiopia’s Royal Treasures
The Maqdala expedition was not just a military assault—it was a cultural rape. British forces seized:
Gold crowns and royal regalia Tabots (sacred tablets representing the Ark of the Covenant) Coptic Bibles and manuscripts Personal artifacts of Tewodros II Religious icons and crosses
Many of these treasures still sit in British museums, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
Despite decades of demands, most have not been returned.
✊🏾 Why This Matters Today
The story of Prince Alemayehu is more than a footnote in colonial history. It is a living wound—a reminder that:
Africa’s past was violently interrupted Its children were taken, erased, or manipulated Its treasures—spiritual and material—are still held hostage in European institutions
Returning Alemayehu’s body is not symbolic. It is a spiritual necessity. His soul belongs to his ancestors, to the soil of Ethiopia, and to the people whose memory still cries out for justice.
🗣️ Reparations Begin with Return
Livity.Blog joins the call to:
Return Prince Alemayehu’s remains to Ethiopia Repatriate the looted cultural treasures of Maqdala Acknowledge and teach the true history of colonial theft and displacement Offer material reparations to Indigenous and African peoples for the crimes of empire
Because true healing requires truth. And truth requires action.
📚 References:
BBC: Prince Alemayehu – the Ethiopian prince buried at Windsor
The Guardian: Let Ethiopia take Prince Alemayehu home
Royal Collection Trust
The British Museum: Looted Ethiopian treasures
Hewan Semon, “Ethiopia’s Stolen Prince,” Africa is a Country
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Livity.Blog | Hidden Histories. Ancestral Intelligence.
