This document outlines the founding principles of the Cultural Heritage Cloud (ECCCH) governance framework. Developed through collaborative workshops between September 2024 and May 2025, it establishes core values to guide the Cloud's operations as a shared platform for heritage professionals and researchers. The governance structure is built upon seven fundamental principles: equity, ensuring fairness in treatment and decision-making; inclusivity, guaranteeing diverse stakeholder representation; awareness, promoting ethical training and informed decision-making; transparency, fostering open processes that build trust; accountability, clearly defining responsibilities; adaptability, enabling responsive governance to evolving challenges; and excellence, maintaining high quality standards across all operations. These principles serve as the ethical foundation for the Cloud's organisational governance, supporting its mission to democratise access to knowledge and digital assets while unifying fragmented communities in the cultural heritage sector. The document further elaborates on implementation strategies across ethical requirements, data sharing infrastructure, operational management, and stakeholder engagement to ensure sustainable and participatory governance.