In a customary ceremony in South Africa, Misuzulu ka Zwelithini was crowned Zulu monarch following a year-long family dispute.
The 48-year-old is the son of the former monarch, but some royals had maintained that the will of the deceased king was actually forged and that the 48-year-old was not the genuine heir.
Born on September 23, 1974 in Kwahlabisa. Educated privately at St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg. Studied at Jacksonville University in the US, where he lived for several years He is Married to two wives, with three sons
Despite being King Goodwill Zwelithini’s third oldest surviving son, King Misuzulu’s ascession to the throne was not instant. Historically, King Misuzulu’s claim to the throne would have been automatic, but the Zulu Kingdom now considers itself a constitutional monarchy, the leader of which must be appointed.
Immediately after the death of King Misuzulu’s father, historians and cultural experts predicted that King Misuzulu would be the one appointed to the throne, as he was the son of the late King and the late King’s Great Wife, giving him increased status among the late King’s other 28 children.
At the time, some senior members of the royal family called the debate over succession “premature”. At King Goodwill Zwelithini’s funeral service, the late king’s sister, Princess Thembi Ndlovu stated that the Royal Family did not yet know who the next king would be and that the individual would be “chosen by God”.
On April 29, 2021, approximately 7 weeks after the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini, Queen Regent Mantfombi Dlamini herself died from an unspecified illness, without having publicly appointed the next Zulu monarch.
However, on May 7, 2021, at the public reading of the late Queen’s will, it emerged that she had appointed King Misuzulu as the next king of the Zulu nation. The announcement was met with protest from certain members of the royal family and King Misuzulu, present at the reading of the will, was whisked away by the South African Police Service and a security detail from Eswatini.