1 Conversations between the author and the Afe-Negus during 1997, and confirmed by the 1998 statement by Afe-Negus Teshome Haile-Mariam. Titles such as Crown Prince must be authorised by a serving Emperor and/or the Crown Council, and only serving Heads of the Ruling Family or - during an interregnum - the Crown Council have the authority to confer Imperial honours and titles, as confirmed by the Imperial Constitution, a fact confirmed by the last Imperial Afe-Negus and Minister of Justice, Afe-Negus Teshome Haile-Mariam to this author. In recent years, descendents of other branches of the Solomonic line - such as descendents of Lij Iyasu, who was removed from office in 1916 just before the coronation of Empress (Negeste-Negestate) Zauditu as Empress - have attempted to claim titles such as “Crown Prince of Ethiopia”, and to issue Imperial decorations. Upon the death of the Emperor, in January 1997, and in accordance with the Constitution promulgated before the 1974 civil war, the Crown Council now has devolved upon it all the responsibility for Imperial Orders, Decorations, Appointments and Titles.Īt present, the President of the Crown Council, HIH Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, and the Viceroy, HIH Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie, are individually Grand Masters of most of the Imperial Chivalric Orders, except where noted. In order to begin preparing the Monarchy for a return to Ethiopia, Emperor Amha Selassie restructured the Crown Council and authorised it to take over many of the functions of the Crown. This was compounded by the dislocation, and subsequent re-establishment of the Crown in exile, and the deterioration of the health of Emperor Amha Selassie I. India gained independence from Britain two months later, on August 15, 1947.The civil war in Ethiopia, from 1974 to 1991, which resulted in the death of Emperor Haile Selassie and a diaspora of Ethiopians around the world, caused an interregnum which, until 1996, meant that few Imperial Orders or Decorations were issued. (You can see Margaret wearing the insignia of the order in this portrait it is placed on her left shoulder, above her family orders.) Both of the princesses were appointed to the order during the celebrations of the official birthday of their father, King George VI.
Her sister, Princess Margaret, was made a companion of the order on the same day, even though she was only sixteen. Today, there is exactly one living person who was invested as a member of the order during its tenure: Queen Elizabeth II, who was made a companion on June 12, 1947. In 1947, when British colonial control of India ended, the order was essentially suspended as you can imagine, there’s been no need to add new companions to an imperial order of chivalry based in a country that has since gained its independence. Over the next seventy years, many more British princesses, Indian royals, and relatives of colonial officials were added to the order’s ranks. Lady Salisbury, Lady Ripon, and Lady Northcote were wives of Secretaries of State and (Under-Secretaries of State) of India. Viscountess Halifax’s husband was in charge of the British East India Company. Lady Frere and Lady Temple were wives of Governors of Bombay. Lady Mary Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, Lady Hobart, Lady Napier, and Lady Denison were all wives or daughters of Governors of Madras.
The Dowager Countess of Elgin, Lady Mayo, Lady Susan Bourke, Lady Jane Baring, Lady Lytton, Lady Lawrence, and Lady Strachey were all wives, widows, or daughters of Viceroys and Governors-General of India. Seventeen additional women, all related to the past and present colonial officials in India, were also recognized as original companions of the order.
Maharani Swarnamoyee of Cossimbazar was renowned for her charity work. Vijaya Mohenu Mukta Boyi was the daughter of the last Raja of Tanjore, and some recognized her as her father’s successor. Maharini Jamnabai Sahib Gaekwad, the widow of the Maharaja of Baroda, was also the adopted mother of a subsequent Baroda ruler. Sahebzadi Dialwar unisa Begum Saheba was the grandmother of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Nawab Shahjihan Begum was the ruler of Bhopal in her own right her elderly grandmother, Nawab Kudsia Begum, was also made a companion. Maharani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana Kempananja Ammani Avaru was the wife of one Maharaja of Mysore and the mother (and regent) of another.
Eight royal Indian women were also among the original membership of the order. Maharani Bamba, something of a real-life Cinderella, was the wife of the last Maharaja of Lahore.
0 kommentar(er)
