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    Queen Victoria's Black Goddaughter

    Dec 03, 2020 6 minutes
    Written by Jessica Leggett

    Even though Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the black goddaughter of Queen Victoria, had a remarkable life, it’s not widely known. However, it’s been brought into the spotlight thanks to a new project by English Heritage, and we spoke to Anna Eavis, curatorial director of English Heritage, to learn more about Sarah’s story.

    She was born in West Africa, in the south-west of modern-day Nigeria, in around 1843. When she was about five, her life was upended when the forces of J King Gezo of Dahomey (located within present-day 1 Benin) raided her home, murdered her parents and took her captive. “The king of Dahomey was still participating in slaving, so he was working with a Portuguese slave trader who would take captured people and sell them on,” explains Eavis. “Sarah was not transported anywhere as she was five years old and she was kept at the king’s court, presumably to later become a slave

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