Coronation of Kabaka Mutesa II (King Freddie of Uganda), Budo, 1940

One loose print measuring 204 x 150 mm, showing Kabaka Edward Frederick Mutesa II seated on a throne wearing his coronation robes and the crown which the Rt, Revd. Cyril Edgar Stuart (1892 - ?), Bishop of Uganda 1934-53, has just placed on his head:
'Finally, dressed in the royal robes, which had been designed for the occasion and were splendidly golden, if a little heavy, I returned to the Church and received the crown and ring of Buganda from Bishop Stuart. Although it had been specially made for me, the crown was a little too small. The Bishop told me later that he had not liked to jam it down too firmly on my head and had suffered acutely as it wobbled precariously. I dread to think what effect it would have had on the Baganda if it had fallen...' ('Desecration of my kingdom' by the Kabaka of Buganda, 1967).
Mutesa II (1924-1969), the son of Daudi Chwa, was crowned in 1940. Fearing for the position of Buganda in a united Uganda he refused to cooperate with British proposals aimed towards this end and spent from 1953-1955 in exile in England. On his return, he soon renewed demands for Ganda secession and entered into an alliance with Milton Obote, becoming the first President of modern Uganda when a republic was declared in 1963. The alliance with Obote was short-lived however, and in 1966 King Freddie was ousted, again coming to England where he died in poverty in 1969.

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Supplied by the Information Officer of the East African Command and presented to The Royal Empire Society by R.L.W. Collison.

Includes index.

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

CN 1314. This collection is also available on microfiche: Africa, fiche number 71.

Fair condition, a few slight bends and some retouching.

This collection level description was entered by WS using information from the original typescript catalogue.

Information Officer of the East African Command