AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
DESPITE differences and legal battles leading to his ascension to the throne, the Amazulu Royal Family has united behind their new monarch King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini.
According to Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister of the Amazulu monarch, Prince Mbonisi and Princess Thembi, the late King Zwelithin’s siblings who had expressed unhappiness with the way the succession had been handled, had pledged loyalty and support to the new King.
Buthelezi said as far as the royal family and the Amazulu nation was concerned, “the King is on the throne.”
He said the new King’s name will be submitted to the KwaZulu-Natal and the national government so that certificate of recognition can be issued.
Buthelezi did not say anything about the legal action instituted by Queen Sibongile Dlamini, the first wife of King Zwelithini and her two daughters. He was however not faced by the possibility that there would be some who would claim to be the rightful heir to the throne. The court action and the mourning period is expected to delay his coronation.
The 47 year-old King is expected to get married and sought out a plethora of Amazulu tradition, culture and protocol, before his coronation.
Twenty fours hours before the display of unity by the royal family, the Prince paid a warm tribute to his mom, the late Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu.
In his speech at the memorial service, read on his behalf by one of his sisters, Prince Zulu paid a warm tribute to his mother and called for unity in the royal household.
“We have no doubt we will unite as a family. Let us emulate the king by being peaceful and continue to love all the queens,” he wrote.
He said it was extremely difficult to lose both parents in a short period. “It is profoundly a difficult time to lose both parents at such a difficult time. The difficulty is that we as a nation are still mourning since the departure of the Zulu king. With the same heavy heart we bid farewell to my mother,” he said.
Queen Dlamini-Zulu was interred yesterday at the crack of dawn, in a private ceremony attended by members of the Amazulu and eSwatini royal families. She was the sister of King Makhosetive III of eSwatini.
