[Etienne,DuchessofBurgundy]

The Queen and I (an updated article)

Joburg man's tale of 'mind-blowing sex' with king's wife has Swazis in a tizz
Lesley Mofokeng (The Sunday times)

Royal upset: King Mswati III,

and Queen LaMagwaza in traditional dress at a function. It is rumoured that LaMagwaza has previously had an affair and been 'set aside'

Queen of hearts: Inkhosikati LaMagwaza has denied having had an affair with Lizo Shabangu, saying he was merely a 'close friend and confidant' who helped her with her art.

'We had to make the most of the small massage bed. We got creative . . .'

Steamy: LaMagwaza with Shabangu during what he claims was one of many romantic interludes the couple shared at the Ezulweni Sun. Shabangu has claimed that he and the queen had sex for the first time in the hotel's spa

Related links
- The article: The Queen and I (an updated version)

Swaziland was this week abuzz after the Sunday Times revealed a South African man's claim that he had had a steamy year-long affair with a Swazi queen.

Lizo Shabangu, 23, of Soweto, said in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times published last week that he was the secret toy-boy lover of 30-year-old Inkhosikati LaMagwaza, the fifth wife of King Mswati III, between February last year and January.


Shabangu told of a romantic getaway at a Johannesburg casino last year: "I spent a whole week and a half in her room . . . where we would wear nothing. We showered together, spent time in the Jacuzzi, ate strawberries and yoghurt off each other and had wine. It was like our honeymoon. We had sex about six times a day on average. "


The affair ended when the queen refused to elope with him, Shabangu claimed.


But LaMagwaza last week strenuously denied the affair, branding Shabangu a "liar" and a "blackmailer". She admitted, however, that she had considered him her "confidant" and "best friend". She said she ended the relationship when he "wanted me to run away with him".


"I accepted what he told me because that's what I wanted to hear," she said. "If somebody tells you nice words, your heart melts . . . But I did not have a strong [enough] relationship with him that I would elope . . . Being a member of the royal family I can't just elope. There's always a legality.


"My kids are the first priority. I can't leave them. I don't have an education and I want them to be better off."


LaMagwaza confirmed that graphic photographs Shabangu presented to the Sunday Times as evidence of the affair were of her. Among these were photos of her topless and in a black-and-white camisole on a bed, as well as one of her bare buttocks.


Said LaMagwaza: "We didn't have a relationship. I don't know what he means . . . He was my confidant and he knows a lot about me and my personal life. He can use that against me. I'm shocked. I took him in and we worked on art together . . . It's a big lie that we had a sexual relationship."


This week, the Sunday Times was inundated with calls from angry Swazis who said the article was an "insult to the Swazi nation".


A South African daily newspaper also reported that the Swazi king had stomped out of his own birthday party in a tizz over the allegations. On Sunday, policemen were sent to buy up copies of the Sunday Times, which were sold out by midday in the country.


An investigation had reportedly been launched into the claims.


The newspaper later claimed LaMagwaza would be "set aside" by the king if the claims proved true, meaning Mswati would refuse to visit her palace and withhold sexual favours.


It also reported that LaMagwaza's brother, who was employed as one of the king's bodyguards, had been suspended from work with no reason given.


The paper quoted sources as saying it was the second time LaMagwaza had been "set aside". Two years ago, there were rumours that she had had an affair. She has not accompanied the king on overseas trips in the past three years and the ban was not lifted until earlier this year.


Mavis Litchfield, Mswati's secretary, could not be contacted for comment this week.


Shabangu, an information processor at a Johannesburg bank, told the Sunday Times he had pursued the queen after seeing her picture in a newspaper in June 2001.


"I was struck by her beauty . I was determined to meet her one day, to get to know her and befriend her," he said.


It took him six months to get LaMagwaza's contact details. He first sent her an SMS in January 2002, saying he was "her fan and I liked her a lot".


" She called to say that she had received my SMS and would like to meet me," he said. Later, they would speak on the phone for hours a day, "talking about us and declaring our love for each other ".


In May, they finally met at the queen's hairdresser in Mbabane .


" The meeting had to be strategically planned to make sure the guards did not become suspicious, so we met where she does her hair. She said: 'I didn't know you were so good-looking.' She was surprised and excited."


Shabangu said they had sex a few weeks later. "We came up with a plan to meet at a secret place, the spa at the Ezulwini Sun. I went in first, changed and stayed in the steam room. She would then get a lady from the massage room to call me into her massage room.


"She was good and we both enjoyed our sexual encounters . . . She'd suggest positions as we had to make the most of the small massage bed. We got creative . . ."


Shabangu said they also met at Lozitha Palace, which LaMagwaza shared with two other Swazi queens. At one point LaMagwaza had told him she was "limiting her encounters with the king" because "I was jealous".


"At some point I thought I was obsessed," he said. "She called me her knight in shining armour.


"The sex was mind-blowing. "


Shabangu said they also spent 10 days together at a Johannesburg casino last October. To give her bodyguards the slip, he climbed over the balcony to her suite.


"She greeted me with open arms, locked the door and we went for the bed. We tore off each other's clothes. She longed for attention and true love because she couldn't be touched by other people. She never got love and I gave her 110% love and attention.


"She loved me because she said I was kind and listened to her; made time for her. She'd call at 2am and I would wake up and listen to whatever she wanted to say."


Shabangu said LaMagwaza had been desperately unhappy and that "she'd cry because her life was terrible and they [the Swazi queens] were treated like kids".


They had arranged to run away together but instead LaMagwaza ended their affair without warning in January. "When I asked her about all the plans we had made, all she could say was: 'I guess I was in love then. You have to figure things out yourself.' "


He begged her to change her mind, but she told him to "stop nagging and being a nuisance".


"If humans could explode, I would have. She was so mean to me. She got what she wanted - the love, attention and sex. I understand her mother spoke to her . . . She blamed her life and our affair on not praying."


LaMagwaza confirmed Shabangu had initiated the contact with her, but said: "He came to me looking for a scholarship and then he became my best friend and confidant. I took him up as a friend and we worked together on art, decorating here and there."


She said Shabangu had provided her with a shoulder to cry on.


"The king has many wives and cannot be there for all of us. I didn't know he [Shabangu] was taking notes. I'm shocked. I poured my heart out to him because I had no one to talk to . . .


"I can't call my mother whenever I have problems. I have to be strong for her and my sister."


But she denied they were more than friends, saying Shabangu had "ulterior motives" and wanted to "blackmail" her.


LaMagwaza also denied Shabangu had joined her at the Johannesburg casino: "I have bodyguards, maids and cleaners 24/7. It's a lie that he climbed over the balcony to come into my room. I was with my children and they were playing everywhere. He wanted me to run away with him. Things didn't go as planned, but it's not like I've cheated him out of anything."



LaMagwaza's cover design for a gospel CD has won her an award in Swaziland. She is due to write her matric exams in Nelspruit next month.