Nyeri

FEATURE ON TREETOPS HOTEL WHERE QUEEN LEARNED OF KING'S DEATH

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• published: 31 Jul 2015
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As Queen Elizabeth II marked 60 years on the throne with her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London, a 90-year-old former porter took a journey the Princess made 60 years ago and remembered meeting her on the night that she became Queen whilst on safari in Kenya. One afternoon in Kenya's central highlands in 1952, two unlikely paths converged. Nahashon Mureithi was 30 years old at the time and working as a porter, room-steward and guide at what was then the world-famous Treetops Hotel. On that day in 1952, the hotel guests in his charge were Princess Elizabeth, then 25 years old, and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. Elizabeth's father George VI died during the night that she spent at Treetops, and the next morning, she was queen. Mureithi remembers making the then Princess's bed that morning, and carrying her bags up to her room at Treetops. In 1952 relations between Kenya and their former colonial ruler, Britain, were at an all time low and there was conflict in Kenya. Mureithi says he remembers not getting tipped that day. "There were no tips back then, because of the emergency with the Mau Mau (uprising, a military conflict in Kenya between 1952 and 1960)." He said there was tension between Kenya and Britain. "Because the owners of the hotel were Europeans, and Europeans and Africans weren't on good terms at that time." It's a day, however, which remains etched in the memory of the now 90-year-old former Treetops porter. When the Queen visited in 1952, no photographers or journalists were allowed to accompany her, so the only pictures of her at Treetops were taken over 30 years later, on a follow-up visit in 1983. The original Treetops Hotel was a three-bedroom treehouse in an African fig tree, reachable only by a very long ladder, and built next to a watering hole which attracted wildlife like elephants, buffalo and rhino. The idea was to encourage big game hunters to photograph wildlife rather than shooting the animals. Today's Treetops stands just on the other side of the watering hole from the original treehouse where Elizabeth stayed, and has only just reopened after it was closed for renovations last year. The hotel's management says they hope the Diamond Jubilee celebrations will boost visitor numbers to the place where Princess Elizabeth became queen. Francis Mushake is one of the hotel's armed guides, and on a walking tour of the area with travel agents visiting from Kenya's capital Nairobi, he talks to visitors about Elizabeth's 1952 visit. A bronze plaque now stands where the original Treetops was, before it was burnt down in 1954. The current Treetops was built and finished in 1957. In Nyeri, a town near Treetops, most residents are not following the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Some locals like Ibrahim Sharpey say they are proud their country is independent. "We don't want them to rule here again. This is a African country. Let them stay in Britain. Let them stay in America. We are Africans here, we do ourselves here. Ok, we don't want our white rulers here. Is that clear?" For Mureithi however, 1952 was the year the Mau Mau rebellion for Kenyan independence began, causing the royal party to briefly consider cancelling their visit. Not long after Elizabeth's visit, Mureithi says he was arrested, beaten up and shot in the arm by police who suspected him of being with the Mau Mau. His arm never healed properly. He now lives in a small rented compound. He and his wife Muthoni share their home with eight of their grand-children and great-grandchildren. Back at home Mureithi reflects back to the day he met Princess Elizabeth and says he remembers how she recorded her stay at Treetops on her camera. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/799cd4cce46d8b846f2ac10b6b486f19 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork