- Princess Ijigayehu Amha Selassie
Princess Ijigayehu Amha Selassie (known during her life as Her Imperial Highness Princess Ijigayehu Asfaw Wossen; died 1977) was the eldest child of Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen of
Ethiopia by his first wife, PrincessWolete Israel Seyoum and was the granddaughter to EmperorHaile Selassie . Through her mother's family she was a great-great granddaughter of EmperorYohannes IV . Princess Ijigayehu was married toDejazmach Fikre Selassie Hapte Mariam , the heir to the old Welega Kingdom ofLeqa Naqamte , and brother to WoezeroAtsede Habte- Mariam (wife ofGeneral Mulugeta Buli ) and PrincessMahisente Habte Mariam (wife ofPrince Sahle Selasse ). Dejazmach Fikre Selassie and Princess Ijigayehu were the parents of six children, Prince Samson Fikre Selassie, Prince Bekere Fikre Selassie, Prince Yisehaq Fikre Selassie, Princess Rahel Fikre Selassie, Princess Aster Fikre Selassie and Princess Meheret Fikre Selassie (all created Princes and Princesses by their grandfather Emperor Amha Selassie while in exile).Princess Ijigayehu notably accompanied her grandfather Emperor Haile Selassie on his state visit to Italy and also on his state visit to Malaysia. Princess Ijigayehu was imprisoned with the rest of the Imperial family on
September 11 ,1974 , the day before Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by theDerg . She died in early 1977 after medical neglect while still in prison. She was buried at theKetchene Medhan Alem Church in Addis Ababa by her children and her mother who were under surveillance but not imprisoned. Early the following year, all her children, along with other children of the Imperial family, escaped from Ethiopia. Her husband remained imprisoned for 8 years and died in August 1996.
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