In November 1930, in a single ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia crowned an emperor and an empress. Tafari Makonnen and Menen Asfaw had been married for nearly 20 years.
A noble match
In 1911 a young nobleman, Tafari Makonnen, married Menen Asfaw, a granddaughter of Negus Mikael of Wollo. The marriage joined powerful families at a time of rivalry at court, and Tafari rose to regent in 1916.
Coronation and exile
In November 1930 he was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I and Menen was crowned Empress in the same ceremony. After Italy invaded in 1935, the imperial family went into exile in Bath, England, living at Fairfield House, and returned after 1941. The Empress founded a school for girls in Addis Ababa that still bears her name.
Together in Holy Trinity
Empress Menen died in February 1962 after half a century of marriage. The Emperor was deposed in 1974 and died the following year. In 2000 his remains were reburied beside hers at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.