
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-line">Top Line</h2>



<p>Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom (UK) has yet again reportedly declined a request to return the remains of an Ethiopian prince, Prince Dejatch Alemayehu, who came to be buried at Windsor Castle in the 19th Century. The re-emergence of this subject has caused a furore on social media with users calling the refusal “revolting”.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The descendants of Prince Alemayehu have made it abundantly clear that “it was not right” for him to be buried in another country other than his own.</p>



<p>&#8220;We want his remains back as a family and as Ethiopians because that is not the country he was born in,&#8221; one of the royal descendants, Fasil Minas, told the <em>BBC</em>.</p>



<p>However, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson has stated that removing his remains could affect others buried in the catacombs of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.</p>



<p>“It is very unlikely that it would be possible to exhume the remains without disturbing the resting place of a substantial number of others in the vicinity,” the palace said, according to the <em>BBC</em>.</p>



<p>Social media users are up in arms by this decision with many calling for Buckingham Palace to not only return the remains of Alemayehu but other priceless artifacts that “do not belong to them”.</p>



<p>“It’s revolting how the monarchy won’t return the remains of Prince Alemayehu who they kidnapped from Ethiopia. So many of the world’s priceless artifacts were stolen by them and The British Museum, and should be returned.” </p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s revolting how the monarchy won’t return the remains of Prince Alemayehu who they kidnapped from Ethiopia. So many of the world’s priceless artifacts were stolen by them and The British Museum, and should be returned. <br><br> <a href="https://t.co/SAJLJTlzMz">pic.twitter.com/SAJLJTlzMz</a></p>&mdash; Merone (@Merone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Merone/status/1661077095793999872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>“The idea that the British royals are somehow entitled to the body of Prince Alemayehu, even in death, is nothing short of grotesque. But it’s not unrelated to the fact that the young man was taken to England with a huge hoard of artifacts.” </p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The idea that the British royals are somehow entitled to the body of Prince Alemayehu, even in death, is nothing short of grotesque. <br>But it’s not unrelated to the fact that the young man was taken to England with a huge hoard of artifacts. <a href="https://t.co/b5od93LE9C">pic.twitter.com/b5od93LE9C</a></p>&mdash; Aparna Nair (@DisabilityStor1) <a href="https://twitter.com/DisabilityStor1/status/1660982626612641792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Return Prince Alemayehu to his home, he was captured in war&#8230;.British Royal family truly is savage and barbaric to deny this child peace in his death&#8230;.Shame on you King Charles and Buckingham Palace, treating a human being as looted treasure and denying him dignity in death <a href="https://t.co/vlrK3M5Ujb">pic.twitter.com/vlrK3M5Ujb</a></p>&mdash; Renee (@Aditiya_renee) <a href="https://twitter.com/Aditiya_renee/status/1660702214816448525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How colonizers colonize&#8230;.If the price of righting this wrong is to &quot;disturb&quot; Windsor burial sites, that&#39;s what consequences mean for a stealing a life, and a body. &quot;British royals refuse to return the remains of &#39;stolen&#39; teenage prince&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceAlemayehu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceAlemayehu</a> <a href="https://t.co/5hp9dt6jci">https://t.co/5hp9dt6jci</a></p>&mdash; karla fc holloway (@ProfHolloway) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfHolloway/status/1661021336087715845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The history of the prince’s story is well documented in both Ethiopia as well as in British society. At just seven years old, Prince Alemayehu was taken to the UK by British army officer Captain Tristram Speedy. As the son of one of the most prominent rulers in Ethiopian history, Emperor Tewodros II; Tewodros committed suicide as the British troops stormed the citadel of Magdala.</p>



<p>In 1868, British soldiers “looted” Tewodros’ imperial fortress after the battle, plundering thousands of cultural and religious artifacts such gold crowns, manuscripts, necklaces and dresses.</p>



<p>According to reports, once in the UK, Speedy presented the Prince to Queen Victoria who allegedly sympathized with the prince and agreed to support him financially. Multiple tales in history, including a diary entry by Queen Victoria, note how despite receiving a British Education, the rest of his upbringing he was miserable. Historians say that he was “deeply unhappy” during his time at</p>



<p>prestigious boarding schools like Rugby and Sandhurst military college as he frequently encountered racism, and that his requests to return home were ignored.</p>



<p>He died of pneumonia at age 18 and, at the reported request of Queen Victoria, was entombed in the catacombs in a corner of St George&#8217;s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the royal residence west of London.</p>



<p>This is not the first time that a request has been made to the Royal Family to return the remains of Alemayehu. According to The Guardian, the campaign to return the Prince to his home country began as early as 2006 with the late Queen Elizabeth II “rebuffing” the request. According to the Ethiopian embassy, the Lord Chamberlain replied on behalf of the Queen, saying “while Her Majesty was in favour of repatriation […] identifying the remains of young Prince Alemayehu would not be possible”. The prince’s remains had been added to a grave at St George’s Chapel with nine others.</p>



<p><strong><em>This is a developing story: FORBES AFRICA reached out to the British Museum and Embassy of Ethiopia in London, but did not receive comment from either at the time of publication.</em></strong></p>


Dejatch Alamayou, King Theodore’s Son.

‘We Want His Remains Back’ Says Descendants Of Ethiopian Prince To Royal Family, But Palace Refuses


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and the longest-serving consort of a monarch in the British royal family, died on Friday weeks before his 100th birthday, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



<p>“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle,” Buckingham Palace&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PAImages/status/1380477266963091460?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;in a statement Friday.</p>



<p>The Duke of Edinburgh’s death comes after he spent weeks at London hospitals as “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/palashghosh/2021/02/17/prince-philip-taken-to-hospital-as-precaution/?sh=4d6c515b2317">a precautionary measure</a>” for a pre-existing heart condition and underwent a heart procedure in March, before later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/03/16/prince-philip-leaves-hospital-two-weeks-after-successful-heart-surgery/">being released</a>.</p>



<p>Prince Phillip’s health had been the subject of public speculation for years; in January 2019, he was involved in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/guymartin/2019/01/18/prince-philip-97-survives-car-wreck-caused-by-him-near-sandringham/#bfe2255336d6">a car acciden</a>t near Sandringham after which he voluntarily gave up his driving license.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In December of that year, he was hospitalized for several days in another “precautionary measure” to treat an unspecified pre-existing condition, Buckingham Palace said in a statement at the time, but was&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/prince-philip-98-released-hospital-christmas-eve/story?id=67909771" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released on Christmas Eve</a>.</p>



<p>Prince Philip retired from official royal duties in 2017, after taking part in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40798469" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">22,220</a>&nbsp;public engagements since Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1952.</p>



<p>His last public appearance before his death was in July, when he took part in a ceremony at Windsor Castle to transfer <a href="https://apnews.com/article/a6182eb44c62a91927855d50e70c497f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a symbolic military role</a> to Camilla, his son Prince Charles’ wife.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. <br><br>His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. <a href="https://t.co/XOIDQqlFPn">pic.twitter.com/XOIDQqlFPn</a></p>&mdash; The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1380475865323212800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>A great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, Prince Phillip was born June 10, 1921 in Corfu, Greece, the nephew of King Constantine I of Greece and in the line of succession to the thrones of both Greece and Denmark. After the Greco-Turkish War, the Greek king was forced to abdicate and the royal family fled Greece by boat, with 18-month-old Prince Phillip reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/0/10-things-might-not-know-prince-philip/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">smuggled aboard in an orange crate</a>. From then, he was shuffled around Europe and lived with various royal family members. After serving in the British forces in World War II, Prince Phillip married the future Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey in 1947. They had four children together; Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, along with eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Known for his unfussy approach and sometimes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39806145" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">offensive one-liners</a>, Prince Phillip was a patron of more than 700 charitable organizations, many involving conservation, engineering and the outdoors.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>The death of the Duke of Edinburgh is the latest hurdle in what has been a trying few years for the British Royal Family. The year 2019 saw Prince Andrew <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2019/11/20/prince-andrew-steps-back-from-royal-duties-amid-epstein-fallout/#5d8d7142f1e6">bow out of</a> royal duties in November in the wake of public outcry after he defended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein in what was called a “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2019/11/18/prince-andrew-defends-car-crash-epstein-interview/#b7e0fe615f70">car crash</a>” television interview with the BBC. In March 2020, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, carried out their final spree of engagements as senior members of the royal family before <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/03/09/meghan-and-harry-mark-final-duty-with-the-queen-before-they-bow-out-as-senior-royals/#6261bb977ea4">stepping away</a> to live a more independent life in the U.S., where Meghan is from. In March, during Prince Phillip’s final hospitalization, Harry and Meghan did a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they alleged Buckingham Palace treated Meghan unfairly and refused to allow her to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/03/07/meghan-struggled-with-suicidal-thoughts-after-marrying-harry-she-tells-oprah/?sh=70ff4e43a713">seek treatment</a> for her mental health. Harry told Winfrey relatives of his <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/03/07/palace-had-concerns-about-how-dark-harry-and-meghans-son-would-be-meghan-says/?sh=2bcd70b46e20">expressed concerns</a> about the skin tone of his son, Archie, while Meghan was pregnant with him. Winfrey later shared Harry said <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/03/08/racism-was-a-large-part-of-the-reason-why-the-sussexes-left-the-uk-harry-tells-oprah-in-new-clip/?sh=4e43f6a566b7">neither of his grandparents</a>, Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Phillip, made the comments.</p>



<p><em><strong>By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


The Transfer Of The Colonel-In-Chief Of The Rifles

‘Beloved Husband’: A Look At Prince Philip’s Life As The Longest-Serving Consort To The Monarch, Following His Death Aged 99

<p>South African entrepreneur Wendy Luhabe, who made her name in business championing female financial power, was made an Honorary Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order at an investiture ceremony in Buckingham Palace on July 11.</p>
<p>She received the award – given for service to the Royal Family – for the 10 years she spent working for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, a leading youth charity that gives people aged between 14 and 24 the chance to fulfil their potential by learning life skills.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2989" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Wendy-Luhabe_7994-683x1024-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></p>
<p>Luhabe is one of the few from the continent to be given the prestigious title. She received it from Prince Charles.</p>
<p>Other recipients of the award, instituted in 1896, read like a who’s who of ambassadors and admirals. The award is given to those who have served the monarchy in a personal way. It includes officials of the Royal Household and ambassadors who have arranged state visits.</p>
<p>The foundation has helped young people everywhere, from the favelas of Brazil to the prisons of South Africa. In her work, Luhabe worked alongside Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex.</p>
<p>Luhabe made her name in business with the women’s investment company WIPHOLD, founded in 1994 with three other women at a time when black economic empowerment was trying to bring the majority of South Africans into the mainstream.</p>
<p>In African lore, rain means blessing. The day she walked the red carpet to the palace, the grey sky over London was full of best wishes as Luhabe put the final touches to her outfit, a simple African print dress and a brown lace top. The multi-colored contemporary African print was designed by Machere in Parktown North, Johannesburg, specially for the occasion.</p>
<p>Luhabe told how she waited with 100 other recipients of the award at Buckingham Palace at the investiture. She was called up, after the knighthoods had been given, to receive her award from Prince Charles in the Throne Room at the Palace in a ceremony that lasted an hour.</p>
<p>“We talked about how long I had carried out work for the Duke of Edinburgh awards and he also wanted to know if I was living in England or South Africa. It was a very quiet and dignified affair and what I remember well was the beautiful classical music that was playing throughout,” says Luhabe.</p>
<p>“I see this award as a tribute to all women and also my grandchildren&#8230;We are here to serve humanity, we must try to do things for ourselves, in this way, we can change the face of Africa.”</p>
<p>Luhabe was told that little was expected of her when she was growing up in apartheid South Africa.</p>
<p>“You were expected to get married and then maybe become a nurse or a teacher, if you were lucky,” says Luhabe, who was inspired at secondary school in Cradock, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, by her teacher Matthew Goniwe, a political activist who was murdered by security forces in 1985 and later known as one of the Cradock Four. Goniwe encouraged the 12-year-old Luhabe to debate and it spurred her on to study at the University of Fort Hare, also in the Eastern Cape, followed by a stint at university in Lesotho. After some time in the corporate world, Luhabe became an entrepreneur.</p>
<p>“I want to be remembered as someone who touched lives, made a difference and gave back to society,” she says.</p>
<p>Luhabe, whose track record includes being founder of Bridging the Gap, a human resources and recruitment firm, is in the process of setting up microenterprises for women in the bakery industry in various communities in South Africa. She will pilot 300 bakeries in provinces including the Free State, Northern Province, Western and Eastern Cape.</p>
<p>Over the past 15 years, Luhabe has received international recognition from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland as a Global Leader of Tomorrow, the Osaka Junior Chamber in Japan as an Outstanding Young Person, Leadership in Practise by Unisa Business School in South Africa, and Woman of Substance by African Women Chartered Accountants.</p>


Tag: Buckingham Palace

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

‘We Want His Remains Back’ Says Descendants Of Ethiopian Prince To Royal Family, But Palace Refuses

‘Beloved Husband’: A Look At Prince Philip’s Life As The Longest-Serving Consort To The Monarch, Following His Death Aged 99

The African Entrepreneur And The Prince