Sobhuza II
| Sobhuza II | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| King of Swaziland | |
| Reign | 10 December 1899 – 21 August 1982 |
| Coronation | 22 December 1921 |
| Predecessor | Ngwane V |
| Successor | Mswati III |
| Prime Ministers |
See list
|
| Born |
22 July 1899 Zombodze, Swaziland |
| Died | 21 August 1982 (aged 83) Mbabane, Swaziland |
| Spouse | 70 wives |
| Issue | 210 children |
| House | House of Dlamini |
| Father | Ngwane V |
| Mother | Lomawa Ndwandwe |
Sobhuza II, KBE (also known as Nkhotfotjeni,Mona) (22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland for 82 years, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history. Sobhuza was born on 22 July 1899 at Zombodze Royal Residence, the son of Inkhosikati Lomawa 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 1921. Sobhuza led Swaziland through independence until his death in 1982. He was succeeded by Mswati III, his young son with Inkhosikati Ntfombi Tfwala, who was crowned in 1986.
Ingwenyama Sobhuza was born in Zombodze on 22 July 1899. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father, Ngwane V, as King of Swaziland on 10 December 1899, when he was only four months old. 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 paramount chief at the age of twenty-two. His grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli, served as regent throughout his youth, formally transferring power to the Ngwenyama on 22 December 1921.
Sobhuza's direct reign would endure more than 60 years (1921–82), during which he presided over Swaziland's independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, after which the British government recognised him as King of Swaziland. Early in his reign, Sobhuza sought to address the problem of land partition and deprivation instituted by the British authorities in 1907. 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. He again took his case on the land issue in 1929 to 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. 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. In 1953 he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.
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