VIEW PHOTOS.

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Forty-six years ago, the Invincible Lion of the Seed of Judah and Implement of the Holy Trinity came to town.

Haile Selassie was also the Emperor of Ethiopia, “the direct descendent of an unbroken line of 225 rulers since the time of Solomon.” He arrived aboard the presidential aircraft The United States of America, and was met at the airport by dignitaries like Vancouver Mayor Tom Campbell, Deputy Provincial Secretary L.K. Wallace, and The Vancouver Sun’s Frank Rutter.

Rutter noted the 74-year-old Selassie was nattily attired (“a dark grey double-breasted suit and grey tie”), and came with a sizable entourage (“nine officials of his government and 11 unofficial representatives, including two valets and a personal physician”).

But Rutter wrote that the emperor was upstaged by his dog Lulu, a brown, long-haired Chihuahua, who scooted off the plane first and ran amok through the legs of the security force sent to guard Selassie.

“The dog Lulu travels everywhere with the emperor,” said Samuel King of the U.S. Secret Service, who travelled with Selassie from Los Angeles to Vancouver. “The emperor, as you can see, is extremely fond of him. Don’t ask me why a male dog is called Lulu.”

Sun photographer Ralph Bower got a shot of Selassie with Lulu on his lap in the back of his limousine. The paper ran it on the front page, over the headline “Emperor’s Own Chihuahua Has a Lulu of an Arrival.”

Lulu stole the show when Selassie visited Victoria, as well.

“All the stuffiness of a royal visit was dissipated at Government House when the rigid protocol of Haile Selassie’s arrival went to the dogs Wednesday,” reported The Sun’s Ian MacAlpine. “The dogs were Lulu and Binky, the white, curly-haired poodle of Lt. Gov. and Mrs. George Pearkes.”

While Selassie was posing for pictures with Premier W.A.C. Bennett, Mrs. Pearkes arrived with Binky in her arms. He barked at Lulu, who yelped back. An aide whisked Binky away before it became an international incident.

Selassie died in 1975 at the age of 83. He is still revered by Rastafarians, who consider him a messianic figure. There are several marvellous photos of Selassie in The Sun archives, including a shot of three Abyssinian chiefs kneeling and kissing the ground before the man they called The King of Kings.

jmackie@vancouversun.com