Ngwenyama Sobhuza II was the king of Eswatini formerly known as Swaziland He ascended to the throne in 1921 at the age of 22, following the death of his father, Ngwenyama Sobhuza I. Sobhuza II ruled Eswatini for an impressive 82 years until he died in 1982, making him the longest verifiable reign of any King in recorded history.
Sobhuza II was known for his strong traditionalist views and efforts to preserve Swazi culture and traditions. He maintained a close relationship with the British monarchy even after Eswatini gained independence, and the country retained a constitutional monarchy with Sobhuza II as the head of state.
Biography
Ngwenyama Sobhuza II was born on 22 July 1899 at Zombodze Royal Residence, the son of Inkhosikati Lomawa Ndwandwe and King Ngwane V. He was educated at the Swazi National School, Zombodze, the Lovedale Institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, and studied anthropology in England, before assuming the Swazi throne as King at twenty-two.
He ascended to the throne after his father’s death, Ngwane V, as King of Swaziland on 10 December 1899, when he was only four months old. His grandmother Labotsibeni and his uncle Prince Malunge led the Swazi nation until his maturity in 1921.
King Sobhuza continued the tribal practice of maintaining many consorts. According to the Swaziland National Trust Commission, King Sobhuza II had 70 wives, who gave him 210 children between 1920 and 1970. About 180 children survived infancy, and 97 sons and daughters were reported living as of 2000. At his death, he had more than 1,000 grandchildren.
Colonial Reign as Monarch
As earlier stated, Ngwenyama Sobhuza 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. However, his grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli, served as regent throughout his youth, formally transferring power to the Ngwenyama on 22 December 1921.
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 petitioning him to restore the lands to the Swazi people. He was defeated by the terms of the Foreign Jurisdictions Act 1890, 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. During the height of colonial rule, when the struggle for African liberation was starting to gain momentum, he emphasized education and unity above all else, knowing that the time would come when the people of Swaziland would have to take over the duties of self-government and the responsibilities of independence.
Post-colonial Reign as Monarch
In the early 1960s, Ngwenyama Sobhuza played a major role in events that led to the independence of his country in 1968. He opposed the post-colonial Westminster constitution proposed by the British government, in which he was assigned the role of constitutional monarch. As a consequence, acting through his advisory council, he formed the Imbokodvo National Movement, a political party, which contested and won all seats in the 1967 pre-independence elections.
Ngwenyama Sobhuza II became recognized by the British as King of Swaziland in 1967 when Swaziland was given direct rule. Independence was achieved on 6 September 1968. During this period. Sobhuza skilfully blended appeal to tribal custom with a capacity to manage economic and social change for his kingdom.
On 12 April 1973, Sobhuza repealed the constitution and dissolved parliament, henceforth exercising power as an absolute ruler. In 1978 a new constitution was promulgated which provided for an elaborate reversion to a tribal mode of rule involving an electoral college of eighty members chosen by forty local councils known as tinkhundla, dominated by tribal elements.
King Sobhuza II died on August 21, 1982, at the age of 83. His official incumbency of 82 years is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record and the world’s longest-documented reign of any King since antiquity.
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