Princess Sophia Desta was the youngest daughter of ''

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Desta Damtew ''Ras'' Desta Damtew (Amharic: ደስታ ዳምጠው ; ''c.'' 1892 – 24 February 1937) was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I. Biography Born in the village of Maskan (in the contempora ...

and Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie, and granddaughter of Emperor

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 ('' ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. She was educated at Clarendon School for Girls in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

together with her three sisters, Aida,

Hirut Desta Princess Hirut Desta (also Princess Ruth Desta) was the daughter of ''Ras'' Desta Damtew and Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie, and granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. She was the widow of General Nega Tegegn, who was governor ...

(Ruth) and Sebel. Princess Sophia was imprisoned, mistreated and humiliated in the Alem Bekagn Kerchele prison,

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 ...

together with her sisters, other princesses of the Imperial Family, from 1974 until 1988. She was the widow of Captain Dereje Haile Mariam, graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the U.K. She married him at

, on 31 January 1959 (in a double wedding with her sister Princess Seble-Wengel Desta). Captain Dereje Haile Mariam was born in 1937 and he was killed at Addis Ababa, at the Genuete Luel Palace while defending the Emperor against a palace coup d'état carried out by General Mengistu Newaye, head of the Imperial bodyguard on 16 December 1960. They had an only daughter: * '' Emebet'' Hannah Mariam Meherete Sellasie Dereje (born in February 1961,

) and educated at Clarendon School for Girls. She married '' Lij'' Aklog Asfaw, son of Woizero Daremelesh and Colonel Asfaw Habte Mariam ' They had issue, one son: ** '' Lij'' Desta Aklog born on October 4, 1994.

Title, style and honours

Title

* 1 January 1934 – Present: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Sophia Desta of Ethiopia

Honours

National dynastic honours

* House of Solomon: Knight Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of the Queen of Sheba * House of Solomon: Recipient of th
Refugee Medal
* House of Solomon: Recipient of th
Silver Anniversary Medal of Emperor Haile Selassie I and Empress Menen
* House of Solomon: Recipient of the Emperor Haile Selassie I Ruby Jubilee and 75th Birthday Medal

Foreign honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Kossomak * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

Boletín Oficial del Estado
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Ancestry

References

Sophia Desta Solomonic dynasty Haile Selassie Sophia Desta Living people 1931 births People educated at Clarendon School for Girls Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic {{Ethiopia-royal-stub