Royal Ethiopian Trust

02/04/2026

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A 19th Century Ethiopian hairpin has returned to Ethiopia.

The imperial hairpin once belonged to Empress Tiruwork Wube, consort of Emperor Tewodros II.

It was looted after the Emperor’s defeat by the British at the Battle of Magdala in 1868.

The hairpin was seized alongside a number of other treasures and the Emperor’s son, Prince Alemayehu.

A lock of the Prince’s hair was returned in 2023.

His remains are buried at Windsor Castle near London, and recent requests to have his body returned have been turned down.

29/03/2026

This is a truly extraordinary photograph. After 158 years, the gold hairpin of Empress Tiruwork Wube has returned home to Ethiopia. This is a profoundly powerful image that captures a historic moment and speaks volumes without words.

The Royal Ethiopian Trust is deeply honored to have played a role in the repatriation of this important cultural artifact. The hairpin will now be preserved and displayed at the National Museum of Ethiopia, where it can be experienced and appreciated by all. We thank eveyone involved for making this a success. To learn more about Empress Tiruwork and the Battle of Magdala please visit www.royalethipiantrust.org

11/12/2025

We are deeply saddened to report the passing Princess Gelila Fesseha, former wife of our Patron Prince Ermias, and mother to Prince Christian and Prince Rufael. May she rest in peace.

Crown Council Mourns Passing of Princess Gelila Fesseha

03/12/2025

The Royal Ethiopian Trust is pleased to announce that it has facilitated the repatriation of a valuable piece of Ethiopia’s Imperial heritage. We are honored to announce the return of the gold hairpin of Empress Tiruwork Wube, consort of Emperor Tewodros II, and mother of Dejazmatch Alemayehu Tewodros. The hairpin was among the the Empress’ belongings when she died in 1868 as she accompanied her son into exile in British custody., and has been in foreig hands sice that time. This was achieved through the cooperation of Bertolami Fine Art and the generosity of donors. Our Patron, His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie and board member Mr. Nicholas Melillo led this successful effort. It will be recalled that the Trust similarly facilitated the return of the Magdala Sheild one year ago.

The Royal Ethiopian Trust continues to work towards preserving Ethiopia’s ancient Imperial legacy.

Photographs posted with the permission of Bertolami Fine Art.

https://royalethiopiantrust.org/the-return-of-imperial-hairpin/

01/12/2025

The Patron of the Royal Ethiopian Trust, HIH Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, addressed those celebrating the 75th anniversary commemoration of the Korean War and the Ethiopian Kagnew Battalion. The address was given in Washington DC where a special event was held on November 16, 2025.

ክቡራን እና ክቡራት

31/10/2025

Crown Council statement on the recent massacre of Orthodox Christians in Arsi.

30/10/2025

The Crown Council of Ethiopia has issued a statement in regard to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, particularly inJamaica.

30 October 2025 - The Crown Council of Ethiopia expresses its sympathies, concern and solidarity for the people of Jamaica and the Caribbean region impacted

28/08/2025

The University of Gondar has named a new hall after His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I.

Recognizing the role of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I in national development and diplomacy, and especially in the spread of modern Education in Ethiopia, the University of Gondar points in particular to the Emperor’s role in in building hospitals and health related institutions in the country. In particular the University noted his establishment of the Gondar Public Health College in 1954, which would eventually grow into the University of Gondar.

In recognition of the above, the University senate has voted to name its new 4000 seat all purpose hall the “Emperor Haile Selassie I Memorial Hall”.

On Saturday August 23rd, 2025, the University Alumni Association organized a networking event featuring a dinner, lecture, and slideshow to raise funds in Springfield Virginia celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Gondar Hospital and the 70th anniversary of the University. The patron of the Royal Ethiopian Trust (RET), H.I.H. Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia was invited to attend and speak at the event, accompanied by Lij Anania Abebe, RET Board member. His Imperial Highness thanked the Alumni Association for the invitation to celebrate these milestones and spoke of the RET’s willingness to partner with institutions like the University to further develop medical care in Ethiopia. He thanked the University for naming its hall for his grandfather, applauded them for honoring their history and stated that he hoped other institutions would offer the same recognition of His Imperial Majesty’s role in their founding and development.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A7CnwBnjR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

30/03/2025

የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሣዊ በጎአድራጎት ባለአደራ ድርጅት ለሙስሊም ወገኖቻችንና ወዳጆቻችን መልካም የኢድ አል ፈጥር በዓል እንዲሆንላችሁ እንመኛለን::

ኢድ ሙባረክ::

The Royal Ethiopian Trust wishes all our compatriots and friends who belong to the Muslim faith a happy Eid Al Fitr holiday.

Eid Mubarak.

01/03/2025

As dusk settled over the mountains surrounding Adwa on March 1, 1896, it became clear to all present that the Ethiopian Empire, Africa’s last surviving fully sovereign monarchy, had dealt a crushing defeat on the forces of the Kingdom of Italy which had sought to impose its rule. It was a military and political earthquake that shook the halls of of power in Europe, and lit sparks of incredulous hope from Cairo to the Cape, and from the Gold Coast to the Benadir Coast as the news spread through Africa. An African Emperor and an African Army had crushed the invading Army of a colonial power.

ምኒልክ ተወልዶ ባያነሳ ጋሻ፣
ግብሩ እንቁላል ነበር ይህን ጊዜ አበሻ።
በሠራው ወጨፎ ባመጣው እርሳስ፣
ተፈጠመ ጣልያን አበሻ እንዳይደርስ።
ምኒልክ ተጉዞ የምትጠይቁኝ፣
ፊትም አላለፈ ኋላም አይገኝ።
አባተ በመድፉ አምሳውን ሲገድል፣
ባልቻ በመትረየስ ነጥሎ ሲጥል፣
የጎጃሙ ንጉሥ ግፋ በለው ሲል።
እቴጌ ጣይቱ እቴጌ ብርሃን፣
ዳዊቷን ዘርግታ ስምዐኒ ስትል።
ተማራኪው ባዙቅ ውሃ ውሃ ሲል፣
ዳኛው ስጠው አለ ሠላሳ በርሜል።
እንደ በላዔ ሰብእ እንደመቤታችን፣
ሲቻለው ይምራል የኛማ ጌታችን።
መድፉን መትረየሱን ባድዋ መሬት ዘርቶ፣
እንክርዳዱን ነቅሎ ስንዴውን ለይቶ፣
የተዘራውን ውል አጭዶና ወቅቶ
ላንቶኒሊ አሳየው ፍሬውን አምርቶ።
አገርህን ምኒልክ እንዳሁን ፈትሻት፣
ባያይህ ነውና ጠላትህ የሚሻት፣
እጁን ቀምሼ አላውቅ እያለ ሲያማህ፣
ቀመሰና እጅህን መጥቶ ጠላትህ፣
ሮም ላይ ተሰማ ለጋስ መሆንህ።

God bless the Memory of Emperor Menelik II and those he led to victory for Ethiopia, Africa, and the world.

Happy Victory of Adwa Day!

07/01/2025

የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሣዊ በጎ አድራጎት ባለአደራ ድርጅት የበላይ ጠባቂ ልዑል ኤርሚያስ ሣኅለ ሥላሴ ኃይለ ሥላሴ በዛሬው እለት በዓለ ልደት በቅድስት ከተማ ላልይበላ እያከበሩ በዚህ ምስል ይታያሉ:: የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሣዊ በጎ አድራጎት ባለአደራ ድርጅት ለኦርቶዶክሳዊያንና ለሌሎች ምስራቃዊ ክርስቲያኖች መልካም የገና በዓል ይመኛል::

The Patron of the Royal Ethiopian Trust, His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, is shown here celebrating the Feast Nativity of Our Lord in Holy Lalibela today. The Royal Ethiopian Trust wishes all Orthodox and other Eastern Rite Christians a blessed Christmas Holiday.