Prince Sahle Selassie

Not to be confused with Sahle Selassie.
Prince Sahle Selassie
Born27 February 1932
Menelik Palace, Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire
Died24 April 1962(1962-04-24) (aged 31)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire
Burial
Holy Trinity Cathedral
SpouseMahisente Habte Mariam
IssueErmias Sahle Selassie
Names
Sahle Aba Dina
HouseHouse of Solomon
FatherHaile Selassie
MotherMenen Asfaw
ReligionEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

Prince Sahle Selassie (Amharic: ልኡል ሣህለ ሥላሴ; 27 February 1931 – 24 April 1962) was the youngest child of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen Asfaw of Ethiopia. His full title was "His Imperial Highness, Prince Sahle Selassie Haile Selassie".[citation needed]

Biography

Born after his parents had been crowned Emperor and Empress of Ethiopia, he was the only one of the Emperor's children to have been born with the title of Prince. Since his older brothers, Prince Asfa Wossen and Prince Makonnen, had both been born before the 1930 coronation, Prince Sahle Selassie was also the first legitimate child born to a reigning Emperor since the birth of Dejazmach Alemayehu Tewodros, son of Emperor Tewodros II. He was educated in the United Kingdom, at Wellington College, Berkshire and Queens' College, Cambridge.[1][2]

Prince Sahle Selassie was married in 1959 to Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam, the daughter of Dejazmach Habte Mariam Gabre-Igziabiher, the heir to the old Oromo kingdom of Leqa Naqamte in Welega Province, and later served as governor of Welega province. They had a son, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie,[3] who currently is the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia. The Prince was a man of an artistic bent, who is said to have made a movie which was banned from publication by the Imperial Government censor despite the fact the Prince was a member of the Imperial family. It was believed that the movie indirectly questioned the fast pace of development, and the strains it caused on rural society, and was thus unflattering to the policies of the Imperial government.[citation needed]

Prince Sahle Selassie died in 1962, months after the death of his mother Empress Menen Asfaw. His cause of death was given as "a liver ailment complicated by pneumonia of both lungs and gastrointestinal hemorrages".[4] He was survived by his wife and his son Prince Ermias, and was buried in the crypt of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ "Haile Selassie at Queens'". Queens' College. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  2. ^ "His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2023. His father, Prince Sahle [Selassie,] was a graduate of the University of Cambridge; and was a Member of Queens' College.
  3. ^ "Prince Sahle Selassie featured in The Washington Post", 2 November 201. The Institute of World Politics.
  4. ^ "Prince Selassie of Ethiopia Dies". The New York Times. 25 April 1962. Retrieved 22 September 2023.