Ethiopian prince’s hair returned after over 140 years in UK

LONDON: A lock of hair from an Ethiopian prince who died in 1879 and artefacts looted by the British during a 19th-century battle have been returned to the east African country.

Items returned to the Ethiopian embassy in a ceremony late on Thursday in London include three silver cups and a shield. The artefacts were pillaged during the battle of Magdala in 1868 when 13,000 British soldiers besieged Emperor Tewodros II´s fortress.

The lock of hair is from the emperor´s son, Prince Alemayehu. It was reportedly returned by a descendant of Captain Tristram Speedy, a member of the British expedition who became the prince´s guardian.