Long-standing residents of Worthing will doubtless remember the royal crown once perched on the front of the old Warnes Hotel, near Splash Point.

The plaque was installed to commemorate the stay of Abyssinian ruler Haile Selassie in the summer of 1936.

Selassie had fled to England after Italian troops invaded his country, now Ethiopia.

Decades later, in 1987, two years after the Warnes closed, the historic building was destroyed by fire.

The hotel remained a scaffolding-shrouded eyesore until the early Nineties, when the bulldozers moved in, turning the site into a car park.

During its demolition, former Worthing Society conservation group member John Head salvaged the crown and stored it in his garden shed.

The society has promised to return the rusting plaque on condition it is restored by developers who plan to start work on a block of art deco-style flats this year.

But what of the story surrounding Selassie's visit?

This is a contemporary account of his short stay in Worthing:

"His children travelled down from Victoria by train on Thursday and were driven by car to the Warnes Hotel, where a suite had been engaged for them by the emperor, who visited the hotel the previous day.

"News of the emperor's visit to Worthing on Wednesday was kept strictly secret.

"He motored from London, with his children, to inspect the suite at the Warnes Hotel, which has been specially redecorated and refurbished.

"On Thursday, the three royal children travelled by the 6.20pm train, reaching Worthing at 7.50pm.

"They were greeted by FW Brookman, the stationmaster, and Superintendent SC Holmes.

"A small crowd had collected at the station gates but the ordinary passengers thronged through the barriers, unaware of the arrival of the royal party.

"The crown prince, the Duke of Harrar, slight, grave and wearing a short, black coat, escorted his sister, Princess Tsahai, who was in a dress, cloak and hat of pure white, to the car which was waiting outside the station.

"While the crown prince walked with his head erect, the princess bent her head, her eyes to the ground.

"Members of the imperial staff followed and, as he stood by the car, the crown prince took off his hat in salute to the onlookers.

"The princess and the prince were met at the hotel entrance by Commander CR Foxley, the manager, and escorted into the building.

"It is understood that the length of their stay is indefinite and they have come to Worthing to avoid the publicity which has followed them since their arrival in England."

The emperor later joined them, occupying the whole of the first floor overlooking the beach and Steyne Gardens.

Detective Inspector Smith, of the special branch at Scotland Yard, stayed with them.

Selassie had few visitors, preferring seclusion, although he could sometimes be seen on the hotel balcony, looking forlornly out to sea.

He also went for walks on the promenade, usually when there were few people about.

One Sunday, undeterred by a smart breeze and a choppy sea, the three children went for a long trip in the motor boat Doris, owned by Messrs A and C Bashford.

The Doris took them along the coast to Goring and circled out to sea for about one and a half miles. Only a few people saw them go out but a crowd was waiting when they returned.

Police stopped the majority of people taking pictures, although a lucky few clicked off several snaps (where are those pictures now?).

Selassie and his family stayed in Worthing for about six weeks. Shortly before his departure, the emperor told the mayor, Alderman WG Tree, that he had a great liking for the town.

What appealed to him particularly was the quality of air and, above all, the town's atmosphere of rest and quiet, which he found a great relief after the noise of London.

Selassie returned to rule Ethiopia in 1941 but was deposed in a military coup in 1974 and died in captivity shortly afterwards on August 26, 1975, aged 83.

But a little part of him, in the form of the crown, will live on in Worthing when the new Warnes rises from the ashes.