“Coming To America 2” | an Ethiopian Prince Found His American Woman | Now She’s Married Into The Royal Family Of Ethiopia

American woman, 33, marries Ethiopian prince, 35, in a lavish wedding 12 years after they met in a Washington, DC nightclub

Ariana Austin, 33, married 35-year-old Joel Makonnen, a great-grandson of the last emperor of Ethiopia, on September 9 in Maryland

• The couple married 12 years after they met on the dance floor of Washington, DC nightclub Pearl

• Makonnen picked Austin up by saying she looked like a model in a Bombay Sapphire advertisement

• Makonnen, now a lawyer for Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, is related to Emperor Haile Selassie I though his second son, Prince Makonnen

• He was born in Rome, where his family lived in exile after a 1974 military coup

• The Ethiopian royal family claims descent to the Biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

An American woman became an African princess last month when she married into the royal family of Ethiopia – after meeting her future husband at a modern day ‘ball’.

Ariana Austin, 33, married 35-year-old Joel Makonnen, a great-grandson of the last emperor of Ethiopia, on September 9 in Maryland.

The couple married 12 years after they first met on the dance floor of Washington, DC nightclub Pearl.

Makonnen told the New York Times that he hit on his future bride and her friend using a cheesy pick-up line.

‘I said, “You guys look like an ad for Bombay Sapphire,” or whatever the gin was,’ Mr. Makonnen recalled.

Makonnen says he immediately knew he wanted to date Austin.

Not even five minutes later I said, “You’re going to be my girlfriend,”‘ he said.

While Makonnen didn’t immediately tell Austin about his family, the truth about his heritage came out as they started to seriously date and it’s something that fascinates Austin.

She appears excited to be apart of a family that traces their roots back to the Biblical King Solomon and Queen of Sheba.

‘It’s unbeatable heritage and history,’ Austin said. ‘It combines sheer black power and ancient Christian tradition.’

The two married last month in an elaborate Ethiopian Orthodox Christian wedding involving 13 priests in Temple Hills, Maryland.

The bride and groom both wore crowns and capes in the ceremony, making them look like the true royals they are. While Austin may not have royal blood in her background, she does come from an African American/Guyanese family with rich histories abroad. Her maternal grandfather was lord mayor of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.

Hours before the ceremony, they hosted a formal reception at Foxchase Manor in Manassas, Virginia where their 307 guests dined on platters of Ethiopian food and pre-boxed slices of Guyanese black cake.

Makonnen, or Prince Yoel as he is officially known, is related to the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, through his second son, Prince Makonnen.

Haile Salassie ruled Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, when he was overthrown by a Marxist Derg military coup.

Makonnen’s father, Prince David, was studying abroad at the time, and was thus able to escape imprisonment.

Makonnen was born in Rome, where his parents were living in exile, and was raised in Switzerland.

When he met Austin, he was perusing an undergraduate degree at American University.

The couple quickly stood the test of a long distance relationship when, after graduating from American in 2006, Makonnen took a six-month internship in France.

Austin went to Paris the next year, where Makonnen returned in 2008 before going back to Ethiopia to start a organization with his uncle to help Ethiopian youth.

In 2012, Austin returned to the U.S. to get a master’s degree in arts education at Harvard and the two decided to take a break that year.

But they were back together again by Valentine’s Day 2014, when Makonnen popped the question with an aptly shaped princess-cut diamond ring.

Their engagement is a funny story. Makonnen went over to his girlfriend’s house to propose, but he knocked on the door so forcefully that Austin thought someone was trying to break in and called her parents for help.

‘He was aggressively knocking so I didn’t answer. He came back, and then I opened the door,’ she said.

The two moved in together after the wedding, and are living in the Washington, DC area.

Makonnen works in the legal department at Otsuka America Pharmaceutical.

His new wife works in philanthropy at the Executives Alliance for Boys and Men of Color.

Source

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Prince Charles Tells UK Muslims to Abide by Our Values

He Says if You Come to Live in Britain You Must Respect Us

• Charles denounced the radicalisation of young Britons by Islamic fanatics
• He said they should show more respect to ‘the values we hold dear’
• Comments were made as he started a six-day tour of the Middle East
• He will tell new Saudi king to show clemency to Saudi blogger Raif Badawi
• Sentence of 1,000 lashes and ten years in jail caused international outrage
• Prince last night arrived in Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah II

The Prince last night touched down in Jordan, where he will meet Jordanian King Abdullah II, before travelling on to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Charles also intends to use his Middle East tour to call for an end to attempts to drive Christians out of the region. IS terrorists slaughtered thousands of Yazidis and Christians in Northern Iraq, and Christians are also threatened in other Muslim countries.

If nothing was done, the time could soon come when ‘there are no Christians left in the Middle East… they are intimidated to a degree you can’t believe,’ the Prince said.

He rammed home his point in uncharacteristically plain terms: ‘The tragedy is even greater because Christians have been in the Middle East for 2,000 years, before Islam came in the 8th Century.’

The Prince’s comments on Islam and Christianity are broadcast in an interview with BBC Radio 2’s The Sunday Hour this morning, suggesting he plans to be very active.

Source

My note: Not enough, but, somehow a lot better than what President Obama said at the National Prayer Breakfast last Thursday. But, I believe that Princes Charles’ “let’s start a friendly dialogue.” or “let’s mend some fences” of his “inter-religious” engagement is good for nothing, and a waste of time and energy. Curios is, the Prince travels quite often to the Arab Middle East, but don’t want to make a visit to the Jewish state of Israel. This will be his second visit to Saudi Arabia during the past two weeks. It’s a mystery to me why the British royals still refuse to visit Israel, while they are constantly in the Arab world. Isn’t it bizarre that the Queen has never set foot in Israel?

I don’t know, perhaps, for similar reasons why, neither an American President nor a Vatican Pope had never ever visited one of the oldest nations in the world, Ethiopia.

• Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has visited over 130 countries over the last 60 years but has not once visited Israel

Mike Huckabee: Obama is Against Christians and Jews Yet Unfailingly Supports Muslims Including Radicals

 

Everything he does is against what Christians stand for, and he’s against the Jews in Israel,’ Huckabee, who was until recently a Fox News host, said this morning on Fox and Friends.

‘The one group of people that can know they have his undying, unfailing support would be the Muslim community. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the radical Muslim community or the more moderate Muslim community.’

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