Princess Romanework Haile Selassie, sometimes spelt as Romane Work Haile Selassie (died in Turin on 14 October 1940), was the eldest child of Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

of Ethiopia by his first wife, ''Woizero'' Altayech.

Biography

The English translation of the emperor's autobiography makes no mention of Princess Romanework, or the Emperor's previous marriage, although he writes in the original Amharic version his grief at learning of the death of his eldest daughter in captivity at Turin just days after his restoration to his throne following the defeat of the Italian fascist occupation. The name of Princess Romanework's mother mentioned by Mockler- "''Woizero'' Altayech"- Mockler, p. xxvii. may be a nickname Princess Romanework's mother used, as the contemporary source, Blata Merse Hazen Wolde Kirkos (a prominent nobleman and important figure in both the Imperial court and within the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

), mentions Princess Romanework's mother ''Woizero'' Woinetu Amede as attending the wedding of her daughter to ''Dejazmatch'' Beyene Merid in his book about the years before the Italian occupation. The Princess married Major-General ''

Dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...

'' Beyene Merid, governor of Bale, and they had four sons, two of whom ''Dejazmach'' Merid Beyene and ''Dejazmach'' Samson Beyene, survived to adulthood. Princess Romanework was captured by the Italians and interned with many other noble Ethiopians on the prison island of Asinara, off the coast of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

Haile Selassie I Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...

, ''My Life and Ethiopia's Progress'', Vol. 2 (1999), p. 170 (translators' footnote) as one of the

Ethiopian POWs during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Italians captured and either imprisoned as prisoners of war or executed selected prominent People of Ethiopia, Ethiopians. The majority of the public executions and mass incarcerations happened in the wake ...

. However, her husband Beyene Merid remained at liberty and was a leader of the resistance against the

Italian occupation of Ethiopia Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the ...

from 1936 until he too was captured, to be executed in 1937. Falling ill, Romanework was moved to the '' Ospedale Maggiore'' in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, where she died on 14 October 1940, probably of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

. After the end of the Second World War, the Italians were asked to return Princess Romanework's body, and those of her two younger sons to Ethiopia, where they would be interred in the Imperial family's crypt in the Holy Trinity Cathedral at

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. However this was never actually carried out and the Princess remains buried in the Monumental Cemetery of Turin with her son Getachew. Her surviving sons were raised by her father the Emperor

, and her line is currently represented by her grandson Sebastyanos Beyene, who lives in Abingdon,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Patronages

* President of the Ethiopian Women's Charitable Works Association.

Honours

* Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Queen of Sheba The Order of the Queen of Sheba was originally instituted as a ladies' order in 1922 in the Ethiopian Empire by Empress Zawditu and would later become the diplomatic symbol of a holy pact. Classes The Order of the Queen of Sheba is presented i ...

(1930). * Imperial Coronation Medal (1930).

Ancestry

References

1940 deaths Romanework Romanework Year of birth missing Burials at Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa) Haile Selassie Daughters of emperors Prisoners who died in Italian detention {{Ethiopia-royal-stub