The Crown Council of Ethiopia

Victory Day Statement
2013/2021

From the President of The Crown Council of Ethiopia,

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie

May 6, 2021

Religious Leaders, Members of the Ethiopian Government, Ethiopian Patriots and the People of Ethiopia:

It gives me heartfelt pleasure to celebrate Ethiopia’s 80th Victory Day Anniversary. Ethiopia’s victory over invading fascist Italian forces eighty years ago could not have been possible without the sacrifices paid by our gallant Patriots and the diplomatic struggle waged by my grandfather, Emperor Haile Selassie I, to liberate Ethiopia on the international stage. We celebrate this day and pay tribute to our ancestors for the sacrifices they made to assure the territorial integrity, independence, and unity of our people.

Every year, The Crown Council of Ethiopia celebrates Victory Day and commemorates our Patriots. What makes this year’s celebration different for the Crown Council is our ability to celebrate Victory Day with our beloved people in Ethiopia and in other parts of the world through the use of modern technology.

There are many lessons we can learn from our history. We should always remember and be cognizant of the fact that our mothers and fathers galvanized under one national flag and sacrificed their sacred lives to ensure that our people would live in peace, love, freedom, dignity, and honour.Our ancestors relished in victory because they did not divide along ethnic or religious lines. If we are to properly celebrate Victory Day, and follow in the footsteps of our mothers and fathers, then we must commit to living in harmony, respecting and loving one another.

I thank the organizers on behalf of our Crown Council for their wisdom and foresight in using this very important holiday to bring us together to celebrate in unity.

Happy 80th Victory Day!

May God bless and protect Ethiopia and her people!

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The Passing of a Great Friend of Ethiopia
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

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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