Princess Elizabeth of Toro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elizabeth_of_Toro
Princess Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya Akiiki of Toro (born 1936) is the Batebe (Princess Royal) of the Kingdom of Toro. She is a Ugandan lawyer, politician, diplomat, and model. She was the first female East African to be admitted to the English Bar. She is a paternal aunt of the King of Toro, Rukidi IV. She briefly (February 1974 - November 1974) served as minister of foreign affairs under Idi Amin
The Princess was born in 1936 to Rukidi III of Toro, the eleventh Omukama of Toro who reigned between 1928 and 1965. Her mother was Queen Kezia, a daughter of Nikodemo Kakoro, a senior chief. Her title from birth was Omubiitokati or Princess.
After finishing elementary school from the present Kyebambe Girls' Secondary School, she was sent to Gayaza High School, a girls' boarding school in Buganda, followed by Sherborne School for Girls in England, where she was the only black student. "I felt that I was on trial and that my failure to excel would reflect badly on the entire black race," she later wrote. After one year, she was accepted into Girton College, Cambridge, the third African woman to be admitted to the University of Cambridge in the institution's history. In 1962, she graduated from Cambridge with a law degree. Three years later, in 1965, the princess became a barrister-at-law, becoming the first woman from East Africa to be admitted to the English Bar.
Around this time, her father died, and her brother Patrick was enthroned as Olimi III, the twelfth Omukama of Toro who reigned from 1965 until 1995. At the coronation, Elizabeth received the title and office of Batebe (Princess Royal), which traditionally made her the most powerful woman in the Toro Kingdom and the most trusted adviser of the king.
King Fredrick Mutesa II of Buganda, another of Uganda's traditional kingdoms, was now the president, with Prime Minister Milton Obote. Barely one year after the coronation of the Omukama Olimi III, Obote attacked the Buganda Palace, sending Edward Muteesa II into exile, and declared himself president. Soon, he abolished all Ugandan traditional kingdoms, including Toro. Elizabeth was afraid for her brother's life, but he escaped to London.
Elizabeth later completed an internship at a law firm, and became Uganda's first female lawyer. She was a virtual prisoner in her own country until Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom sent her an invitation to model in a charity fashion show. The princess was a smash hit, and soon became a highly successful fashion model, being featured in many magazines. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis met Elizabeth at a party, and convinced her to move to New York City. In 1971, Obote was overthrown by General Amin, and Elizabeth returned to Uganda. Amin's rule was arguably even more repressive than Obote's, with Amin executing and imprisoning many people. In 1974, Amin appointed Elizabeth minister of foreign affairs.
In February 1975, Elizabeth escaped to Kenya, then to Vienna, then to London. Four years later, Elizabeth returned to Uganda to help with the country's first free national elections, which were won by Obote, who continued killing his enemies. Elizabeth and her lover, Prince Wilberforce Nyabongo, son of Prince Leo Sharp Ochaki, escaped to London in 1980 and married in 1981. In 1984, Elizabeth played the part of Shaman in the Columbia Pictures film Sheena: Queen of the Jungle
Finally in 1985, Obote was overthrown and following a brief period of military rule, was replaced by Yoweri Museveni. In 1986, Elizabeth was appointed ambassador to the United States, a job she held until 1988. Later that year, Nyabongo, an aviation engineer, was killed in a plane crash at the age of 32.
Following the death of her husband, Elizabeth opted to leave public service and get involved in charity work, in addition to being an official guardian of her brother's son, Rukidi IV, who was born in 1992 and has been the reigning Toro monarch since 1995. Following a period of service as Uganda's Ambassador to Germany and the Vatican, Elizabeth accepted an appointment as Uganda's High Commissioner to Nigeria.
Photos https://www.google.com/search?hs=aNc&q=Princess+Elizabeth+de+Toro&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=opera&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiBnu3QyMniAhXxwYsKHTTfAroQsAR6BAgAEAE&biw=1880&bih=934
PRINCESS ELIZABETH BAGAAYA OF TORO
http://www.torokingdom.org/Bagaaya.htm
Vintage Muse du Jour: Princess Elizabeth of Toro
https://www.messynessychic.com/2018/05/31/vintage-muse-du-jour-princess-elizabeth-of-toro/
Most of the planet is still talking about the British Royal Wedding at Windsor Castle, but today, we’re formally inviting you to shift your gaze to a lesser-known royal, deserving of her own spotlight: Elizabeth of Toro, the Ugandan Princess, lawyer, actor, top model, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the US, Germany and the Vatican in the 1960s. Her life reads like a trophy wall, and that’s only half of it. The Cambridge graduate was the first female East African to be admitted to the English Bar and later worked for, then escaped, Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. She’s survived a brutal regimes, periods of exile and prejudice, and simply just isn’t you run-of-the-mill maiden. She’s our Vintage Muse du Jour…
She was born Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya Akiiki of Toro in 1936, a princess in one of the five, 15th century-old kingdoms on the Ugandan border. The kingdom, which is actually called, “Tooro,” was affiliated with ancient Egyptian rule and practices; subjects buried their royals in the same way one would an Egyptian Pharaoh.
Here she is with her father (left image), George Rukidi, the “Omukama” or King. On the right is her mother, Queen Kezia, yet another woman of staunch character and chief advisor to her husband.
Tooro was still under rule of the British Empire — a reality that was a real two-sided coin for the Princess. On the one hand, Elizabeth had access to an excellent education; on the other, she felt as if she had to consistently prove herself to those in the upper crust schools. “I felt that I was on trial,” she later said, “and that my failure to excel would reflect badly on the entire black race.” One year later, she was admitted to the prestigious University of Cambridge to study law.
It would be the start of a long career for Elizabeth, who was the first East African woman to be admitted to the English bar and went on to have an illustrious career in politics within, and outside of, her own kingdom.
Once her father passed away, she explained in her autobiography, “I was the chief adviser to my brother, the King of Toro.” It was her word, in a way, that most resonated in the King’s ear…
It was also a very tumultuous period for Tooro, whose monarchy was abolished in 1967 and wouldn’t be reinstated until the early ’90s. It was Princess Margaret, a friend of the Ugandan Princess, who jumped in to effectively save her from becoming a prisoner in her own land. Margaret, being the coolest one in the Royal Family (let’s be honest) flew her in for a fashion show in London in a gesture of solidarity, and a nudge towards another fun past-time for the Princess: high fashion.
Elizabeth was instant hit, and even caught the eye of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, who convinced her to move to move to New York for a spill.
“I was featured in American Vogue, LIFE and Ebony and I was the first Black to appear on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar,” she wrote, “I have always been a symbol of what a black person can be in any field.”
She also starred in the film adaptation of author Chinua Achebe’s classics, Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. The movie was “based on igboland, a region of eastern Nigeria,” explained Elizabeth, and “meant to expose the impact of Western civilisation on Africa.” She was on top of the world — but her homeland was at its own political boiling point.
By the 1970s, the late dictator Idi Amin, “The Hitler of Africa,” had taken complete control of the country. He demanded that all Ugandans with Asian ancestry (about 60,000 people) leave their homeland in 90s days, ruling through violence, greed, and above all, instilling fear in his citizens. He offered Elizabeth a position as Minister of Foreign affairs, and let’s just say that when a dictator ‘offers’ you a role…well, you can’t really refuse. It was a harrowing period in the Princess’ life, and one that demanded a serious blend of smarts and social tact. It was a question of survival, but when she refused to marry Amin, she was fired.
“Some people who had been eyeing my post told Idi Amin that I was plotting to over-throw him,” she wrote, “and he had me placed under house arrest. But for international and local pressure, I would have been killed. I managed to flee into exile, only to return to Uganda in 1980.
To this day, she remains an icon and inspiration to her people — but her story is still overlooked. “I wish to see Africa working towards the achievement of a real and authentic African identity,” she wrote about her work in politics, “as well as developing ways to ensure that our cultures and values are well promoted and protected. There should be a proper knowledge and documentation of our history, tradition and art, through which other people could learn and appreciate our concept of living.” Now that’s the kind of majesty that doesn’t need a title.
Will there Ever Be a Ugandan Woman as Beautiful and Intelligent as Princess Bagaya?
https://bigeye.ug/will-ever-ugandan-woman-beautiful-intelligent-princess-bagaya/
Elizabeth Toro,1974 — Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger chats with attractive Elizabeth Bagaaya, Foreign Minister of Uganda, during a luncheon hosted by Kissinger at the US
Bagaya Princess Elizabeth Bagaya of Toro
Princess Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya Akiiki of Toro is the Batebe or princess of the Kingdom of Toro. She is a Ugandan lawyer, politician, diplomat, model and actress. She was the first female East African to be admitted to the English Bar. She is a paternal aunt of the current King of Toro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. She briefly (February 1974 – November 1974) served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Idi Amin.
Princess Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya is a living fairy tale princess. She was was born in 1936 to His Royal Highness Lieutenant Sir George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, the eleventh (11th) Omukama of Toro kingdom in Uganda, who reigned between 1928 and 1965. Her mother was Lady Kezia Byanjeru Abwooli, a daughter of Nikodemo Kakoro (a senior chief of the king). Her title from birth was Omubiitokati or Princess. Elizabeth of Toro was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Born into the Toro Royal family at the height of its glory, she was raised in the typical, privileged fashion and style that we associate with fairy tale princesses.
Within and outside the kingdom, Princess Elizabeth’s mesmerizing beauty was equaled only by her warmth of heart, and counterbalanced by her academic prowess. She excelled in her studies, which she started in Gayaza High School, a prestigious girls’ boarding school in Buganda, continued at Sherborne School for Girls, a boarding school in England, where she was the only black student.
She wrote in her autobiography that “I felt that I was on trial and that my failure to excel would reflect badly on the entire black race.” After one year (1959), she was accepted to the prestigious Cambridge University. She earned her place in history as being the third African woman to graduate from Cambridge in 1962 with a law degree. Amongst her tutors were E.M. Forster and F.R. Leavis, and her classmates included Germaine Greer and David Frost.
When not studying hard, Ms Bagaaya, not unlike the typical undergraduate, was partying hard because, she says, she was “in great demand”. Amongst the many smitten by our princess was Prince William of Gloucester, nephew of King George VI, who roamed about in a private jet. Like most royals, Ms Bagaaya serves up some cockiness. Before the prince, she dated a “tall, handsome, wealthy, sophisticated, and amusing Scot” who “entertained lavishly the rich and the beautiful. I was not rich.”
Hallelujah to that. But even as Ms Bagaaya went from party to party adorned in the “model gowns of the great houses of Paris”, she was conflicted about going all the way. She chose not to in order to protect her image and what it represented: the best of her not-permissive culture in which a public role awaited. “So I stoically denied myself any sexual activity or emotional involvement with any man, leaving Cambridge a virgin…” she writes.
Three years later, in 1965, Elizabeth Bagaaya became a Barrister-at-Law, becoming the first woman from East Africa to be admitted to the English Bar.
A pupilage followed in the chambers of Sir Dingle Foot – the UK solicitor-general and the man who would successfully represent Abu Mayanja, another Cambridge-trained lawyer, in Kampala in the famous sedition case of 1969. To celebrate her achievement, the princess hosted a gala party in London on December 20, 1965 “dressed in a pink silk Guy Larouche gown that contrasted with my dark skin and eyes…” In the morning, news came of her father’s death.
Following the death of her father,King George Rukidi III and the accession to the Toro throne by her brother, Patrick David Matthew Koboyo Olimi III, the twelfth (12th) Omukama of Toro, who reigned from 1965 until 1995 King George Rukidi III, princess Elizabeth assumed her traditional role as Batebe (Princess Royal), which traditionally, made her the most powerful woman in Toro, and the most trusted adviser to her brother, King Patrick Olimi VII. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end of the glory days, a signal for tough times ahead.
The mid sixties were characterized by political upheaval in Uganda, and one of the victims were the kingdoms. King Fredrick Mutesa II of Buganda, another of Uganda’s traditional kingdoms, was now the President, with his Prime Minister, Milton Obote. Barely one year after the coronation of the Omukama Olimi III, Obote attacked the Buganda Palace, sending Sir Edward Muteesa II in exile, and declared himself president. Soon he “abolished” all Ugandan traditional kingdoms including Toro. Elizabeth was afraid for her brother’s life, but he escaped to London.
Elizabeth later completed an internship at a law firm, and became Uganda’s first female lawyer. Elizabeth was a virtual prisoner in her own country, until in 1967 she was introduced to modelling by her friend Princess Margaret, who invited her to appear as a guest model at a Commonwealth runway show in London.
She was a big hit, and decided to ditch law for modelling. Her connections proved vital once more, as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, whom she’d met at a party, introduced her to the New York fashion scene, where her royal status catapulted her into the mainstream fashion titles. Her accidental hairstyle became the rage in black America as “the Elizabeth of Toro hairstyle.” The June 1969 edition of Vogue featured her in a four-page spread, and in November of the same year she made history in becoming the first black model to be photographed for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.
Alas, this historic first cover was marred by the fact that Nyabongo had her face obscured by the magazine title’s logo. Nevertheless, she was inundated with offers of work, shooting with major fashion photographers Bill King and Irving Penn. She was even offered a large sum to pose nude, but she considered this a step too far for a woman of her position.
She also starred in several motion pictures, including “Sheena” and Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease” in which she acted the leading female role. ‘I was also featured in the film “Cotton Comes to Harlem.” and “Sheena”.While recently in Nigeria, I watched some Nollywood films and I was quite impressed with the story lines and good acting.’
In the end, Nyabongo had bigger ambitions than modelling, and so her career was short. She returned to Uganda in 1971, taking up a career in politics.
Following the military coup of 1971, Princess Elizabeth was extended a special invitation to return and serve as Uganda’s roving ambassador, in the government of Idi Amin. Later, she was appointed Uganda’s ambassador to the United Nations. Her stint at the U.N. was short lived as she fell out of Amin’s grace. What followed is a heart rending, sad story of humiliation and real danger to the princess and those close to her. She barely escaped with her life and went into exile in neighboring Kenya.
Princess Elizabeth returned to Uganda following the overthrow of Idi Amin’s regime. The return of Milton Obote to Uganda, and his eventual assumption of power as president started yet another reign of terror in the newly liberated nation. The political and security situation proved too hostile for Princess Elizabeth and her lover, Prince Wilberforce Nyabongo, son of Prince Leo Sharp Ochaki, escaped to London in 1980, and married secretly in 1981. Our princess was happy. “I brushed his hair daily, washed his feet with warm water, and massaged his body,” she writes. When he said he would give anything to fly, the princess summoned her vast network of highly connected friends and had him learning to fly in no time. When Ms Bagaaya was being considered for a role in the film Sheena and Wilbur said he wanted the pilot’s bit, she made sure. And together they would rally support for the NRM in Africa and Europe.
In 1986 Elizabeth was appointed ambassador to the United States, a job she held until 1988. Later that year Nyabongo, an aviation engineer/co-pilot, was killed in a plane crash in Casablanca at age 32 years. Following the death of her husband, Elizabeth opted to leave public service and get involved in charity work.
The restoration of cultural leaders by President Museveni’s government in 1993 beckoned Princess Bagaya to return and serve her people as Princess Royale to her brother, King Patrick Kaboyo Olimi VII. She was one of the key players in restarting the kingdom as most of the elders who knew all the rituals and protocol were dead or scattered all over the world. Upon the untimely death of King Olimi VII, she was named as one of the guardians to her nephew, the three-and-one half years old infant king, His Royal Highness Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
She is, today, one of the key players in the kingdom reconstruction activities of The Batebe of Toro Foundation, to which she devotes most of her time. Following a period of service as Uganda’s Ambassador to Germany and the Vatican, Princess Elizabeth accepted an appointment as Uganda’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, based in Abuja, that country’s capital.
The story of Princess Elizabeth of Toro relates the highs and lows in the life of a living legend, a fairy tale princess. You may read it for yourself in her autobiography “Elizabeth of Toro: The Odyssey of an African Princess”, published by Simon and Shuster.
E.M. Forster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._M._Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM CH (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. Many of his novels examined class difference and hypocrisy, including A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910) and A Passage to India (1924). The last brought him his greatest success. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 16 different years
E M Forster Talks About Writing Novels - 'Only Connect'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaRMfAy14jY
F.R. Leavis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._R._Leavis
Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis CH (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was a British literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York.
F R Leavis and Raymond Williams - Two Very Different Positions on 'Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKltu01WR5o
Germaine Greer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Greer
Germaine Greer (/ɡrɪər/; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century.Specializing in English and women's literature, she has held academic positions in England at the University of Warwick and Newnham College, Cambridge, and in the United States at the University of Tulsa. Based in England since 1964, she has divided her time since the 1990s between Australia and her home in Essex.
Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since her first book, The Female Eunuch (1970), made her a household name.[3] An international bestseller and a watershed text in the feminist movement, the book offered a systematic deconstruction of ideas such as womanhood and femininity, arguing that women are forced to assume submissive roles in society to fulfil male fantasies of what being a woman entails.
Her work since then has focused on literature, feminism and the environment. She has written over 20 books, including Sex and Destiny (1984), The Change (1991), The Whole Woman (1999), and Shakespeare's Wife (2007). Her 2013 book, White Beech: The Rainforest Years, describes her efforts to restore an area of rainforest in the Numinbah Valley in Australia. In addition to her academic work and activism, she has been a prolific columnist for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, The Independent, and The Oldie, among others.
Greer is a liberation (or radical) rather than equality feminist.[a] Her goal is not equality with men, which she sees as assimilation and "agreeing to live the lives of unfree men". "Women's liberation", she wrote in The Whole Woman (1999), "did not see the female's potential in terms of the male's actual." She argues instead that liberation is about asserting difference and "insisting on it as a condition of self-definition and self-determination". It is a struggle for the freedom of women to "define their own values, order their own priorities and decide their own fat
Germaine Greer’s controversial views on rape
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEuNBcW6FnI
David Frost
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Frost
Sir David Paradine Frost OBE (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, media personality, journalist, comedian, and writer.
After graduating from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Frost rose to prominence in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on U.S. television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1977, which were adapted into a stage play and film.
Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who was behind the launch of ITV breakfast station TV-am in 1983. For the BBC, he hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost from 1993 to 2005. He spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole. From 2006 to 2012 he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English and from 2012, the weekly programme The Frost Interview.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship MS Queen Elizabeth, on which he had been engaged as a speaker. In March 2014, his memorial stone was unveiled in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey for his contribution to British culture.
David Frost - Commentator Piece from Last TW3 - '63 - live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGwKrjtZ2f8
Frost over the World - Carlos Acosta - 8 May 09
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXPfx4N6Tec