A lock of hair from a young Ethiopian prince who died over 140 years ago has been handed over to representatives from his home nation in the United Kingdom.
British soldiers abducted Prince Alemayehu in 1868 after conquering Emperor Tewodros II‘s castle and killing himself.
After a terrible childhood in Britain, the crown prince died at the age of 18 in 1879.
He was buried near London at Windsor Castle, but recent efforts to have his body repatriated have been denied.
Fasil Minas, one of the prince’s relatives, expressed hope that the return of the prince’s hair would pave the path for his body to be returned to Ethiopia.
Teferi Melesse, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, received the lock of hair, as well as a number of other artifacts plundered from Emperor Tewodros’s Maqdala stronghold, at a ceremony in London on Thursday evening.
He welcomed their homecoming, saying they would return to their rightful place, where they could continue to inspire and teach future generations.
He stated that Ethiopia would continue to encourage the UK to restore more fortress-seized items.
The prince was sent to London at the age of seven, when his orphan circumstances attracted Queen Victoria’s sympathy.
She agreed to financially maintain him and placed him in the care of Captain Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy, the man who had accompanied the prince from Ethiopia.
The Scheherazade Foundation, which facilitated the return of the lock of hair, stated that it was previously in Captain Speedy’s hands.
Leonie Turner, a Speedy descendant who handed up the hair in London, told Canadian station CBC that the artifact was discovered among her family relics.
“I felt Prince Alemayehu’s hair was a long way from home,” she is quoted as saying.
Alula Pankhurst, a member of Ethiopia’s Heritages Restitution National Committee, told the BBC that while he welcomed the return of the hair, it should only be the beginning.
“The restitution of Ethiopian artefacts looted by the1868 British expedition to Magdala is important for restorative justice and an excellent way to build better relations and collaborations between British and Ethiopian institutions,” he said.
There have long been calls for the prince’s body to be returned, with his descendants renewing their demand in May.
Buckingham Palace, however, rejected the request in a statement to the BBC, claiming that exhuming the prince’s remains would disturb the remains of others buried in the catacombs of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
