Queen Victoria Had An African Goddaughter She Admired
The story of an African Princess, Sara Forbes Bonetta
Sara Forbes Bonetta was a girl who originated from Ogun State, Nigeria. She made a special record in history for being the only African girl to become the goddaughter of Queen Victoria of England. Her intelligence sparked great admiration from her godmother, Queen Victoria.
Bonetta was born in 1843 in a royal household as a princess of the Yoruba people from Nigeria. Five years after Bonetta was born, her village was attacked by the Dahomeyan army. The army killed Bonetta’s parents and her people. And, Bonetta was taken into captivity.
In 1850, a British missionary, Captain Fredrick E. Forbes of the Royal Navy, traveled to the Dahomey kingdom as a British emissary. During his stay, King Ghezo of Dahomey introduced Bonetta to Forbes. Forbes liked the young girl, and he suggested taking her back to England to present her to the Queen as King Ghezo’s sign of hospitality.
Forbes gave Bonetta a new name(she was originally called Aina). And, he brought her to the Queen as a gift. The first encounter between Bonetta and Queen Victoria happened in 1850 at Windsor Castle. This encounter led to a very beautiful relationship between the two. Forbes became Bonetta’s guardian, and the Queen made…
