Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu (15 February 1953 – 29 April 2021) was the

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

of the Zulu nation from 1977 to 2021 as the

Great Wife Great Wife, otherwise appearing in West Africa as Senior Wife, is an honorific applied to the principal female spouse in African polygynous unions. It is widely used by contemporary royal and aristocratic wives in states throughout the modern cont ...

to King

Goodwill Zwelithini Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu (27 July 1948 – 12 March 2021) was the King of the Zulu Nation from 1968 to his death in 2021. He became King on the death of his father, King Cyprian Bhekuzulu, in 1968 aged 20 years. Prince Israel Mcway ...

. She served as the

queen regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

from March 2021 to April 2021.

Early life and family

Queen Mantfombi Dlamini was born on 15 February 1953 to the

House of Dlamini The House of Dlamini is the royal house of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Mswati III, as king and Ngwenyama of Eswatini, is the current head of the house of Dlamini. Swazi kings up to the present day are referred to as '' Ingwenyama'' and they rule to ...

. Born to King Sobhuza II of Swaziland and Princess Manoni, who was herself the granddaughter of King Mbandzeni, a former Swati king, Mantfombi's father Sobhuza II, as ''Ngwenyama'' of the Swazi Nation, became the

King of Swaziland iNgwenyama (, pl. ''tiNgewnyama'', also ''Ingwenyama'' or ''Inkosi'') is the title of the male monarch of Eswatini. In English, the title is sometimes translated as King of Eswatini. The iNgwenyama reigns together with the Ndlovukazi, a spiri ...

at independence in 1968. Queen Mantfombi's brother, Sobhuza's successor

Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive Dlamini; 19 April 1968) is the ''Ngwenyama'' (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He heads an absolute monarchy, as he has veto power over all branches of government and is constitutionally immune fr ...

, would ultimately change their country's name to

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

in 2018. Her family forged links with other African dynasties: her brother, Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, married into the Mandela chieftaincy family of Mvezo in the same year as her betrothal. Through this union, she gained

Zenani Mandela-Dlamini Princess Zenani Mandela-Dlamini (born 5 February 1959) is a South African diplomat and traditional aristocrat. She is the sister-in-law of the King of eSwatini, Mswati III, and the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his former wife, Winnie Mandela. ...

as a sister-in-law. The Queen was a member of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

Queen consort

After a traditional upbringing in the Swazi royal family, the princess was

betrothed An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

to King

of the Zulu Nation in 1973. At the time of their betrothal, she was a member of the royal family of a

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

. Her intended husband was a chief recognised by the

South African government The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...

as the traditional authority of Zululand. Considering their relative dynastic seniority, the Swazi palace laid a condition for the marriage: the princess was to become the King's ''

'', a position that would give her male children first place in the line of succession. The Zulu agreed, and the couple married in 1977.

Queen regent

She was appointed as the interim leader of the Zulu Nation under the title of

, on 24 March 2021, after the death of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini on 12 March 2021. This was in accordance with King Zwelithini's will, and she was set to temporarily serve in this capacity until the next Zulu king was appointed. Had she survived, she would also have appointed the next king; her first son, Misuzulu Zulu, was believed to have been her choice, which materialised. On 27 April 2021, the royal family confirmed that Queen Mantfombi Dlamini had been hospitalized. She stayed at the hospital until the time came. She died two days later on 29 April 2021. The family did not immediately release the details of the cause of death. Prince

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (; 27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023) was a South African politician and Zulu people, Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He ...

described her death as "unexpected".

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

Premier Sihle Zikalala called the news "heart-wrenching" and said the Queen was a bridge between the Zulu and

eSwatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

nations. He called her leadership role an inspiration for women, which helped to "administer the final burial rites to the backward, patriarchal and chauvinistic tendencies that considered women as inferior beings". On the following day, Prince Buthelezi confirmed that the Queen died around 20:15 at the Netcare Milpark Hospital in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. He further announced that the Queen had been suffering from a long-term illness; this was known to the palace but not revealed publicly. After recovering from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, she was admitted to a hospital in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

for a previously scheduled operation to remove gallstones. As she was too weak to undergo surgery, she saw another doctor in

, and was later hospitalized.

Children

Queen Mantfombi and King Goodwill had eight children. They are as follows: * King Misuzulu Zulu, born 23 September 1974 in Kwahlabisa,

. He studied

International Studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. He was appointed king by his mother before her death, and was crowned in August 2022. * Princess Ntandoyesizwe Zulu, born 28 June 1976. Married to Moses Tembe * Princess Nomkhosi Magogo Zulu * Princess Bukhosibemvelo Zulu, married in 2007 to Sipho Nyawo, who paid 120 cows as part of the '' ilobolo'' for her. * Prince Bambindlovu Makhosezwe Zulu * Prince Lungelo Zulu * Prince Mandlesizwe Zulu * Prince Simangaye Zulu

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dlamini, Mantfombi Monarchs in South Africa African traditional governments African queens South African Seventh-day Adventists 1953 births 2021 deaths 21st-century women rulers Zulu royalty Swazi royalty Daughters of kings Female regents Zulu women

Early life and family

Queen consort

Queen regent

Children

See also

References