The Crown Council of Ethiopia

The Ethiopian People lost a great friend with the passing on April 9, 2021, of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. We deeply mourn his departure and honour his great achievements while extending deepest sympathies to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, for the loss of her beloved husband.

We share with the entire Royal Family and the Commonwealth the grief at the loss of the Queen Elizabeth’s consort, and we mourn the passing of a great friend of Ethiopia in Prince Philip. Among other things, he fought to protect the wildlife of our country.

But we remember him, as well, as a great figure who saw heroic service in World War II, and subsequently, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, built a great friendship with Ethiopia and with Emperor Haile Selassie I. We may think of Prince Philip par-ticularly in light of the fact that he bridged the period of the great World War II alliance of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth with Ethiopia, bringing about the first Allied Victory of that war. The Victory of the Battle of Gondar in November 1941 saw Axis forces driven for the first time from foreign lands they had occupied illegally.

I was privileged to have met on occasion with HRH Prince Philip, and valued his counsel.

God Bless the memory of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and may we always think of him as a great friend of Ethiopia. God Bless, at this particular time, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and her family, and the People of the great Commonwealth who Prince Philip served. And God Bless Ethiopia.

The photograph at left shows His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I greeting His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Visit to Ethiopia in 1965. Prince Philip is seen wearing the Grand Cross of the Order of the Queen of Sheba, while Her Majesty, in the background, is shown wearing Ethiopia’s premier honour, bestowed on regnant sovereigns, the Collar of the Order of Solomon; The photograph at right shows HRH Prince Philip in conversation with His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie and Ethiopian Crown Council Strategic Advisor Gregory Copley (center), in Barbados..

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Ethiopian Crown Council President
Addresses the Importance of the
125th Anniversary of the Victory of Adwa

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, on March 28, 2021, addressed the global Ethiopian audience on the importance of the 125th Anniversary Year of the Victory of Adwa. He was speaking in an interview on the Australian Amharic-language network, SBS, with interviewer Girazmach Kassahun Negewo. The full broadcast can be heard by clicking:

https://www.sbs.com.au/language/amharic/audio/interview-with-prince-ermias-sahle-selassie-haile-selassie

On the Passing of
His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu
of the Zulus

It was with profound sadness that we learned that His Majesty King Goodwill Zwele-thini is no longer with us.

His ukukhothama — his “kneeling”; that is, his move to allow his successor to rise, for the King has gone to be with his ancestors and remains as an inspiration to those left behind — symbolised the end of a great era. He reigned for a half-century, wisely and with great skill. He saved and rebuilt the Zulu nation, and he had mapped a path of dignity and sovereignty for his People.

His Majesty was kind to receive me and give me advice and introductions in Southern Africa.

The King was a great force for peace in Africa. He was a calming and wise influence. And yet he was fearless in protecting the dignity and in restoring the historical territories and rights of the Zulu people. His long tenure on the Throne means that he will be difficult to replace, but will always remain an influence for good on the Zulu people, just has his ancestor, King Cetshwayo kaMpande, was. And he will be an inspiration always to them, as was King Shaka kaSenzangakhona.

God Bless the Memory of King Goodwill Zwelithini. God Bless the Zulu People, and guide them as they embrace a new King.

And God Bless Ethiopia.

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125 Years After the Beacon of Ethiopian Unity Was Lit

A Statement from the Crown Council of Ethiopia by its President,

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie

March 1, 2021

On the 125th Anniversary of the Victory of Adwa

It is 125 years since the People of Ethiopia gathered in unity under the rallying call of Emperor Menelik II to repel the foreign army which had invaded our homeland.

The Victory of the Battle of Adwa on 23 የካቲት 1888 (March 1, 1896, in the Western calendar) by the combined Ethiopian forces — who volunteered from around the Empire — lit a beacon of freedom and dignity which has inspired Africa and commanded the respect of the world ever since.

Adwa reflected the selfless courage of peoples from across the Empire who saw the cause of their collective Ethiopianness as something which enhanced their ability to defend their sovereignty and ability to forge their own destiny. Petty rivalries were put aside; there was mutual respect for the abilities and contributions among all the participants. And we saw what we could achieve when we acted together. Each Ethi-opian honoured the other.

Ethiopians are clearly pleased that the Government of Ethiopia has formally institut-ed recognition of this historic event.

The Crown Council marks this as the beginning of a full year of its celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Victory of Adwa, until 22 የካቲት 2014 (March 1, 2021), dur-ing which — as COVID-19 restrictions on travel and gathering permit — it will cele-brate the Victory and the cause of the unity of all members of the Ethiopian family.

God Bless Ethiopia. God Bless the Memory of Emperors Menelik II and Haile Selassie I.

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Interview of HIH Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie

President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia

October 14 2020

Click photo for link to interview