Haile Selassie I was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. Prior to his coronation, he had been the Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia from 1916. He is a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history, and the key figure of Rastafari, a religious movement in Jamaica which emerged shortly after he became emperor in the 1930s. He was a member of the Solomonic dynasty which claims to trace lineage to Emperor Menelik I, supposedly the son of King Solomon and Makeda the Queen of Sheba.
Menen Asfaw was Empress consort of the Ethiopian Empire. She was the wife of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Prince Makonnen Haile Selassie, Duke of Harar was the second son, and second-youngest child, of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and Empress Menen Asfaw. He was made Mesfin of Harar upon the coronation of his parents in 1930.
Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie, GBE baptismal name Fikirte Mariam, of Ethiopia was the eldest child of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen Asfaw.
Princess Tsehai Haile Selassie was the third daughter and fourth child of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen Asfaw of Ethiopia.
Princess Aida Desta, baptismal name Bisrate Gabriel, was the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie, eldest child and daughter of Ras Desta Damtew and Princess Tenagnework. She was the wife of Leul Ras Mangasha Seyum, Prince of Tigray, son of Seyum Mangasha, and great-grandson of Emperor Yohannes IV. Her godmother was Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia.
Her Highness Princess Seble Desta was born on Sept 1, 1931 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Princess Sophia Desta was the youngest daughter of Ras Desta Damtew and Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie, and granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. She was educated at Clarendon School for Girls in the United Kingdom together with her three sisters, Aida, Hirut Desta (Ruth) and Sebel. Princess Sophia was imprisoned, mistreated and humiliated in the Alem Bekagn Kerchele prison, Addis Ababa together with her sisters, other princesses of the Imperial Family, from 1974 until 1988.
Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam(born at Nekemte on 9 February 1937) is the widow of Prince Sahle Selassie, youngest son of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. She is the daughter of Dejazmach Habte Mariam Gebre-Igziabiher, heir to the former Welega Kingdom of Leqa Naqamte, and later served as governor of Welega province. Her mother was Woizero Yeshimebet Guma, a prominent Welega Oromo noblewoman who was later married to Ras Mesfin Selashi, a leading Ethiopian aristocrat and close associate of Emperor Haile Selassie. Princess Mahisente is also the mother of Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, the current President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia.
Princess Sara Gizaw, Duchess of Harar was the widow of Prince Makonnen, Duke (Mesfin) of Harar and second son of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
Princess (Leult)Ijigayehu Amha Selassie was the eldest child of Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen of Ethiopia by his first wife, Princess Wolete Israel Seyoum and was the granddaughter to Emperor Haile Selassie.
Medferiashwork Abebe, baptismal name Amete Maryam, was the titular Empress-consort of Amha Selassie, Emperor-in-exile of Ethiopia. Her full title used by monarchists was "Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Medferiashwork", but she was officially regarded in post-Derg Ethiopia as "Her Imperial Highness Princess Medferiashwork Abebe".
Princess (Leult)Sifrash Bizu is a daughter of Emperor-in-exile Amha Selassie of Ethiopia by Empress Medferiashwork Abebe, his second wife. She is a granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
RasDesta Damtew was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Haile Selassie Gugsa (1907–1985) was an Ethiopian army commander and member of the Imperial family from Tigray.
Lieutenant-General LijAbiye Abebe was an Ethiopian politician and son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Major-General DejazmatchBeyene Merid was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and the son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Rear Admiral Iskinder Desta was a member of the Ethiopian Imperial family and naval officer. A grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I, he served as the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Ethiopian Navy, its most senior officer, from 1958 until his execution by the Derg in 1974.
Gebre Kristos Desta Nego ( 1932–1981) was an Ethiopian artist and poet. He is credited with bringing modern art to Ethiopia Both his paintings and poems stirred controversy among his countryfolk. He died young, at 50, as a refugee living in the United States, but despite his short life he transformed Ethiopian art influenced many a young artist.
Clarendon School for Girls was a girls' independent boarding school, which began in 1898 in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It moved three times: first to Kinmel Hall near Abergele in Denbighshire in 1948 and then to Haynes Park in Bedfordshire in 1976 before merging with Monkton Combe School, near Bath, Somerset in 1992.
