Swazi Royal Family

Swazi Royal Family, The Kingdom of Swaziland is located between South Africa and Mozambique. It has a population of over 1 million people, but the average life expectancy is less than 40 years due in large part to the AIDS epidemic. In 1999, Swaziland's King Mswati declared AIDS a national disaster.

Swaziland's king rules jointly with his mother, who is called the Indlovukazi ("Queen Mother" or "She Elephant)". The king traditionally has many wives. According to the Swaziland National Trust Commission, the king's first two wives, called ritual wives, are chosen for him from specific clans by councilors. After that, the king can choose his own wives.

When the king dies, the royal family meets to choose a new Indlovukazi, usually from among the late king's wives (but not his ritual wives). Traditionally, the woman who is chosen should have only one son, who in time becomes the new king.

Swaziland's Sobhuza II was born in 1899 and became paramount chief when he was a few months old, with his grandmother, Labotsibeni, as Queen Mother and regent. At that time Swaziland was a British protectorate. When it gained its independence in 1968, Sobhuza II became king. He remained king until his death in 1982, making his total reign -- more than 82 years -- one of the longest in world history.

After the death of King Sobhuza II, his son Makhosetive was chosen to be the next king. Due to an apparent dispute within the royal family, the late king's wife Dzeliwe Shongwe acted at first as regent, but was later replaced by replaced by Makhosetive's mother, Ntombi Latfwala. In 1986, Makhosetive was crowned King Mswati III with his mother as the Indlovukazi. They continue to reign today.

King Mswati, an absolute monarch, has been named one of the world's worst dictators by Parade Magazine. As of 2008, he is believed to have 13 wives. In 2002, a woman sued to try to prevent the king from marrying her then-teenaged daughter, Zena Mahlangu, saying the girl had been abducted, but the king nonetheless married Zena in 2004. Some of the king's other wives have reportedly left him.