Ham Nghi

Emperor Ham Nghi (咸宜帝 Hàm Nghi) was the 8th Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. He was born on August 3, 1871-d.1943, at the Purple Forbidden City, in Hue, Vietnam.

On July 4, 1885, the Mandarins Revolt broke out under the leadership of Nguyen Van Tuong and Ton That Thuyet. They stormed the palace and Emperor Ham Nghi and three empresses were taken away.

They were taken to the hills and jungles around Laos along with these men, to wage a guerilla war against the French occupation forces. The French decided to replaced him with his brother Dong Khanh and enthroned as the Son of Heaven.

In 1888, after a series of setbacks of low supplies and supporters Emperor Ham Nghi was betrayed by his bodyguard and turned over to the French colonial regime.

On August 13, 1888, he was exiled to Algeria, and remarried a French Algerian Marcelle on November 4, 1904. They had three children, Prince Minh-Duc, Princess Nhu May and Princess Nhu Ly.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam had sent a delegation to France to seek permission from Princess Nhu Ly (Countess De La Besse) regarding the remains of her father Emperor Ham Nghi, to be reburied in the former Imperial capital of Hue. Her family has presently refused the invitation from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

See also: Ham Nghi, 1871, 1885, 1888, 1904, 1943, Algeria, Dong Khanh, France, Guerilla war