Swazi Royalty

The Kingdom of Swaziland is located between South Africa and Mozambique. It was a British territory at the beginning of the 20th century. The king, Sobhuza II, was a minor, so his grandmother, Queen Labotsibeni Gwamile Ndluli, acted as regent until 1921. She rallied the Swazi people to begin buying back their lands from foreigners.

In the 1960s Sobhuza founded the the Imbokodvo National Movement, which worked for Swazi independence. That goal was achieved in 1968. In the '70s Swaziland adopted a constitution which banned political parties and gave the king supreme power.

King Sobhuza II died in 1982. His wife Dzeliwe Shongwe ruled as regent for a year, then was replaced by another of Sobhuza's widows, Ntombi Latfwala. Her son Makhosetive became King Mswati III in 1986. The king and his mother, whose title is Ndlovukazi (Great She-Elephant), rule jointly.