Sobhuza ii cause of death

King of Swaziland from to

For the early king of Swaziland named Sobhuza, see Sobhuza I.

Sobhuza IIKBE (Swazi:[sɔbʱuzʱa]; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona;^[1][2] 22 July – 21 August ) was Ngwenyama (King) of Swaziland (now Eswatini) for 82 years and days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history.

Sobhuza was born on 22 July at Zombodze Royal Residence, the son of InkhosikatiLomawa Ndwandwe and King Ngwane V. When he was only four months old, his father died suddenly while dancing incwala. Sobhuza was chosen king soon after that and his grandmother Labotsibeni and his uncle Prince Malunge led the Swazi nation until his maturity in ^[3] Sobhuza was acknowledged as King by the British in , and Swaziland achieved independence in Sobhuza continued to reign until his death in He was succeeded by Mswati III, his young son with Inkhosikati Ntfombi Tfwala, who was crowned in

Early life and education

Ingwenyama Sobhuza was born in Zombodze on 22 July ^[4] He ascended to the throne after the death of his father, Ngwane V, as King of Swaziland on 10 December , when he was only four months old.^[5] He was educated at the Swazi National School, Zombodze, and at the Lovedale Institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, before assuming the Swazi throne as King at the age of twenty-two.^[4] His grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli, served as regent throughout his youth, formally transferring power to the Ngwenyama on 22 December ^[5] Before assuming his royal duties, he studied anthropology in England.^[6]

Kingship

Sobhuza's direct reign would endure more than 60 years (–), during which he presided over Swaziland's independence from the United Kingdom in , after which the British government recognised him as King of Swaziland (Eswatini).^[5] Early in his reign, Sobhuza sought to address the problem of land that had been occupied by white settlers in He did so by first leading a delegation to London to meet with King George V and petition him to restore the lands to the Swazi people.^[7] He again took his case on the land issue in to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

He was defeated by the terms of the Foreign Jurisdictions Act , which effectively placed the actions of British administrations in protectorates beyond the reach of the British courts.^[4] Sobhuza's role during this colonial period was for the most part ceremonial, but he still had major influence as a traditional head of the Swazi nation.^[4] In , he received the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski.

In , he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.^[8]

In the early s Sobhuza played a major role in events that led to independence for his country in He opposed the post-colonial Westminster constitution proposed by the British government, in which he was assigned the role of constitutional monarch.^[4] As a consequence, acting through his advisory council, he formed the Imbokodvo National Movement, a political party, which contested and won all seats in the pre-independence elections.^[4] He became recognized by the British as King of Swaziland in when Swaziland was given direct rule.

Independence was achieved on 6 September Following this, Sobhuza skilfully blended appeal to tribal custom with a capacity to manage economic and social change for his kingdom.^[4] On 12 April , the king repealed the constitution and dissolved parliament, henceforth exercising power as an absolute ruler.^[5] In a new constitution was promulgated which provided for an elaborate reversion to a tribal mode of rule involving an electoral college of eighty members chosen by forty local councils known as tinkhundla, dominated by tribal elements.

The Swazi economy prospered under Sobhuza's leadership.

Swaziland is rich in natural resources, and much of the land and mineral wealth originally owned by non-Swazi interests was brought under indigenous control during Sobhuza's reign.^[4]

Later life and death

Sobhuza celebrated his Diamond Jubilee in At this time, he had successfully restored and indeed strengthened the monarch's role as the chief arbiter of decision-making in his kingdom.^[4] In the early s King Sobhuza attempted to acquire control over KaNgwane, a Bantustan set up by the South Africangovernment in an attempt to reunite all Swazi people separated by the colonial boundary.

He died on 21 August at Embo State house at the age of ^[9]

Sobhuza's official incumbency of 82 years and days is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record and the world's longest documented reign of any sovereign since antiquity. Only Min Hti of the Burmese Kingdom of Arakan, Pepi II Neferkare of Ancient Egypt and Taejo of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo are claimed to have reigned longer, though these claims are disputed.^{[citation needed]}

Family and succession

Known by the honorific "Bull of the Swazi" by virtue of his numerous progeny,^[10] King Sobhuza continued the tribal practice of maintaining many consorts.

According to the Swaziland National Trust Commission, King Sobhuza&#;II had 70 wives, who gave him children between and About children survived infancy, and 97 sons and daughters were reported living as of At his death he had more than 1, grandchildren.^[11]

Sobhuza died in , having appointed Prince Sozisa Dlamini to serve as 'Authorized Person', advising a regent.

Selection of a successor was confirmed only after King Sobhuza's death, a regent being necessary if the heir remained under age at that time. By tradition, the regent would be one of the queens consort who had borne the late king a son.^[5] The first regent was Queen Dzeliwe, but after a power struggle Sozisa deposed her and she was replaced by Queen Ntfombi.

During this period Andy Warhol boosted her renown, and that of Swaziland, by including her portrait along with those of Elizabeth II of the Commonwealth Realms, Beatrix of the Netherlands and Margrethe II of Denmark in his Reigning Queens series.^[12] Ntombi reigned on behalf of her young son by King Sobhuza, Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, who was designated as Crown Prince or Umntfwana.

He was crowned King Mswati III in ^{[citation needed]}

One of Sobhuza's sons-in-law was the late Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, King of the Zulus of South Africa, who married the Swazi king's daughter, Princess Mantfombi (born at Siteki in , betrothed in ), at Nongoma in June ^[5] Another in-law is Zenani Mandela, the daughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who belonged to a cadet branch of the Thembu dynasty which reigns as paramount chiefs in the Transkei.

She wed Sobhuza's son, Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, who, although an older half-brother of Mswati and Mantfombi,^[5] did not inherit the Swazi throne, instead launching, with his wife, an enterprise in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Honours

National honours

• Grand Master of the Royal Order of the King Sobhuza&#;II (Kingdom of Swaziland, ).^{[citation needed]}

Foreign honours

Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Civil Division (KBE) (United Kingdom, 1 January ).^[13]

Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Civil Division (CBE) (United Kingdom, 8 June )^[14]

Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Civil Division (OBE) (United Kingdom, 11 May ).^[15]

See also

References

• Kuper, Hilda ().

  Sobhuza II, Ngwenyama and King of Swaziland: the story of an hereditary ruler and his country. Africana Pub. Co. ISBN&#;.

External links