Multiple artifacts taken by British forces in 1868 reside in the Royal Collection, which can return items at the discretion of trustees
Published on January 24, 2025 02:26PM EST
The Ethiopian government will reportedly be demanding that King Charles return “immoral” artifacts that have been kept in Britain since the 1868 Battle of Magdala.
Per a report published by The Telegraph on Friday, Jan. 24, officials in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa will be pushing for the return of items from the Royal Collection as well as treasures kept elsewhere in the United Kingdom, such as the British Museum. The items kept by the King are sacred to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, per the outlet, which also notes that the government in the United Kingdom will be asked to support Ethiopia’s push for the items’ return next year.
The Ethiopian Heritage Authority will lead the move for the return of the items alongside the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, according to The Telegraph.
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“It is immoral,” said the heritage authority’s director general Abebaw Ayalew Gella. “You don’t just put them somewhere. They are sacred.”
“A manuscript with illumination is always considered sacred,” Gella added, referring to the “illuminated” works. “You don’t even touch them.”
As The Telegraph notes, the Royal Collection contains 18th century manuscripts commissioned by Ethiopian royalty, including an illuminated Life of Mary manuscript and one titled The Miracles of the Virgin Mary — both of which were taken by British forces in 1868 when Tewodros II, Emperor of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia), died by suicide after the British defeated his troops at the battle of Magdala.
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Artifacts from the emperor’s fortress were then auctioned off, some presented to the royal family, with the British having taken Tewodros’ wife Empress Tiruwork Wube and their young son, but she died during the journey, as previously reported. Tewodros II’s gold filigree slippers, as well as a revolver, were added to the Royal Collection, as well. They are among the items that Ethiopia is reportedly seeking to be returned.
As reported in September 2023 by The Art Newspaper, a sacred tablet seized by British troops during the battle in 1868 was returned during a London church service.
According to The Telegraph, the Royal Collection can return items at the discretion of trustees, although a law is preventing Britain’s national museums from letting go of its own artifacts. Per the outlet, while the British Museum Act 1963 forbids the return of any object in the collection, officials in Ethiopia will be making a formal repatriation request to the U.K. government.
Orthodox priest Memher Girma Batu told The Telegraph that it is “not fair to have them there,” referring to the Tabots, tablets that represent the Arc of the Covenant. “They symbolize the commandments of God. Based on this I want to say please return the Tabots to their original place — that is Ethiopia.”
In a statement shared by the outlet, the Royal Collection Trust said that the collection is “held in trust by the Sovereign for his successors and the nation, and is not owned by The King as a private individual.”
“As such, The King would take advice from Royal Collection Trust, who would consult a range of internal and external stakeholders.”
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As reported in 2023, Buckingham Palace has previously rejected a request to repatriate the body of Prince Dejatch Alemayehu of Abyssinia, who was buried in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle after being taken to the U.K. in 1868 following his father Tewodros II’s death. The young son died of pleurisy at age 18 in 1879.
Despite his descendants reportedly asking for the move, the palace said in a statement that it was “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.”
“Conscious of the responsibility to preserve the dignity of the departed it is therefore, with regret, not possible to agree to the request, but in recent years we have accommodated requests from Ethiopian delegations to visit St Georges and will continue to do so,” the statement read.