Tewodros II shot himself at Maqdala in 1868, Britain auctioned his treasury and took his son, and in 2023 Buckingham Palace refused to return the son's remains

In April 1868 a British army stormed Maqdala, the mountain fortress of Emperor Tewodros II. As the troops advanced, he shot himself with pistols that Queen Victoria had given him. The British plundered the fort and the treasury was "entirely rifled." Fifteen elephants and 200 mules carried the loot down. It was sold at a two-day auction for about £5,000 in prize money, just over £4 per soldier. Richard Holmes of the British Museum had £1,000 to spend and bought manuscripts and objects. He kept the Kwer'ata Re'esu icon for himself. Tewodros's son and heir, Prince Alemayehu, aged seven, was taken to Britain in the care of Captain Tristram Speedy. Queen Victoria arranged his education. He died at 18 on 14 November 1879^† and was buried in the catacombs of St George's Chapel, Windsor, reportedly at her request. Ethiopia asked for his remains in 2007. On 23 May 2023 Buckingham Palace refused his family's request. It said exhumation would very likely disturb others buried nearby. Objects have come back one by one: a tabot from St John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, in 2002; items bought by the Scheherazade Foundation in 2021; a privately owned tabot on 24 September 2023. The British Museum holds 11 tabots in a basement storeroom, where even its own curators may not view them. In February 2024 Westminster Abbey agreed in principle to return its tabot. Whether it has been returned is not confirmed^†.