1.
Coat of arms of Swaziland
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The coat of arms of Swaziland is a coat of arms depicting various symbols for traditional Swaziland culture. The lion represents the King and the elephant represents the Queen-mother and they support a traditional Nguni shield which represents protection. Above the shield is the kings lidlabe, or crown of feathers, on a banner below the shield is the Swaziland national motto, Siyinqaba, meaning, We are the fortress
2.
Mswati III
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King Mswati III is the current King of Swaziland and head of the Swazi Royal Family. King Mswati III was born in Manzini, Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and he attended primary school at Masundvwini Primary School and secondary school at Lozitha Palace School. He then attended from 1983 to 1986 Sherborne School in north-west Dorset, HRH Prince Makhosetive was crowned Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch at the time in the world. Together with his mother Ntombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother, he rules the country as an absolute monarch, Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy and currently has 13 wives. Although Mswati is respected and fairly popular in Swaziland, his policies and lavish lifestyle have led to local protests and international criticism. Mswati III is one of many sons fathered by the king, Sobhuza II. He was born at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in Manzini, when he and his mother were discharged from the hospital they went to live at one of Sobhuzas residences, Etjeni, near the Masundwini royal residence. As a young prince, Makhosetive attended Masundwini Primary School and later Lozitha Palace School and he sat for the Swaziland Primary Certificate examination in December 1982 at Phondo Royal Residence and received First Class with merit in Mathematics and English. He developed a great interest in the guard, becoming the first young cadet to join the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force. When King Sobhuza II died on 21 August 1982, the Great Council of State selected the 14-year-old prince Makhosetive to be the next king, the king and his mother, whose title is Indlovukati, rule jointly. Today King Mswati III is Africas last absolute monarch in the sense that he has the power to choose the minister, other top government posts. Even though he makes the appointments, he still has to get advice from the queen mother and council. In matters of cabinet appointments, he gets advice from the prime minister and he ruled by decree, but did restore the nations Parliament, which had been dissolved by his father in order to ensure concentration of power remained with the king. In 2004, Mswati promulgated a new constitution that allows freedom of speech and assembly for the media and public, Amnesty International has criticized the new constitution as inadequate in some respects. This was last done under Sobhuza II in 1971, as per custom, he was fined a cow by members of her regiment, which he duly paid. The king currently has 15 wives and 25 children, a Swazi kings first two wives are chosen for him by the national councillors. There are complex rules on succession, traditionally the king is chosen through his mother as represented in the Swazi saying Inkhosi, yinkhosi ngenina, meaning a king is king through his mother. According to tradition, he can marry his fiancées only after they have fallen pregnant, until then, they are termed liphovela, or brides
3.
Heir apparent
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An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. An heir presumptive, by contrast, is someone who is first in line to inherit a title, today these terms most commonly describe heirs to hereditary titles, particularly monarchies. They are also used metaphorically to indicate an anointed successor to any position of power, in France the title was le Dauphin. See crown prince for more examples and this article primarily describes the term heir apparent in a hereditary system regulated by laws of primogeniture—as opposed to cases where a monarch has a say in naming the heir. An heir presumptive, by contrast, can always be bumped down in the succession by the birth of more closely related in a legal sense to the current title-holder. The clearest example occurs in the case of a title-holder with no children, if at any time he or she were to produce children, they rank ahead of whatever more distant relative had been heir presumptive. Many legal systems assume childbirth is always possible regardless of age or health, in such circumstances a person may be, in a practical sense, the heir apparent but still, legally speaking, heir presumptive. Adelaide was 44 at the time, so pregnancy was even if unlikely. Daughters may inherit titles that descend according to male-preference primogeniture, thus, normally, even an only daughter will not be heir apparent, since at any time a brother might be born who, though younger, would assume that position. Hence, she is an heir presumptive, for example, Queen Elizabeth II was heir presumptive during the reign of her father, King George VI, because at any stage up to his death, George could have fathered a legitimate son. In a system of absolute primogeniture that disregards gender, female heirs apparent occur, several European monarchies that have adopted such systems in the last few decades furnish practical examples. Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway is heir apparent to her father, Victoria was not heir apparent from birth, but gained the status in 1980 following a change in the Swedish Act of Succession. Her younger brother Carl Philip was thus heir apparent for a few months, then, as the representative of her fathers line she would assume a place ahead of any more distant relatives. Such a situation has not to date occurred with the English or British throne, several times an heir apparent has died, however, there have been several female heirs apparent to British peerages. In one special case, however, England and Scotland had an heir apparent. William, by contrast, was to reign for life only, thus, although after Marys death William continued to reign, he had no power to beget direct heirs, and Anne became the heir apparent for the remainder of Williams reign. She eventually succeeded him as Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, the position of an heir apparent is normally unshakable, it can be assumed they will inherit. Sometimes, however, extraordinary events—such as the death or the deposition of the parent—intervene
4.
Lobamba
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Lobamba is the traditional, spiritual, and legislative capital city of Swaziland, seat of the Parliament, and residence of the Ntombi, the Queen Mother. Mswati III lives about 10 kilometres away at the Lozitha Palace, the King and Queen Mother participate in annual December and January Incwala ceremonies and August and September Reed Dancees at the Royal Kraal. Key attractions are the Parliament, National Museum of Swaziland, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, the Embo State Palace, not open to visitors, was built by the British government for the polygamous King Sobhuza II, whose family included 600 children. He led the movement for Swazilands independence from the United Kingdom and was its first prime minister and it is located in the western part of the country in the woodland Valley of Heaven, or Ezulwini Valley. It is 16 kilometres from Mbabane, in the district of Hhohho and has a climate with a summer rainy season. In 1997 its population was 3,625 and its population in 2006 was 11,000. Across the country,84. 3% of its people are Swazi and 9. 9% are Zulu, the remainder are Tsonga, Indian and others. Its official languages are Swazi and English, two areas have been called Lobamba, the first now called Old Lobamba was established in 1750 in southern Swaziland. The subject of article is a settlement that was created by Sobhuza II in the northwest section of the country. In 1903, following the Boer Wars, the British government took control of Swaziland, in 1921 King Sobhuza II became leader of Swaziland, which was still under the British governments control. Swaziland became independent of the British government on September 6,1968 and he was the countrys first prime minister and the great-grandson of Sobhuza I. With its independence, Swaziland was a member in its own right of the Organization of African Unity, British Commonwealth, and it was made a constitutional monarchy under Sobhuza II, who lived in the royal residence, or kraal, in Lobamba. Lobamba is the seat of the Swaziland government. It was made a branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on January 1,1965, the constitution was signed by King Mswati III on July 26,2005. The king appoints the prime minister and the council, there are two chambers, the Senate and the House of Assembly. The parliament building is open to visitors. The royal Embo State Palace was built by the British to house the polygamous Sobhuza II and his family and it is not open to visitors and photographs are not allowed. King Mswati III lives at the Lozitha Palace, about 10 kilometres from the city and he visits the Royal Kraal, or Ludzidzini Royal Residence, during the Umhlanga dance and Incwala ceremonies
5.
Swaziland
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Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini, is a sovereign state in Southern Africa. It is neighboured by Mozambique to its northeast and by South Africa to its north, west and south, the country and its people take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule Swazi territory was expanded and unified. At no more than 200 kilometres north to south and 130 kilometres east to west, despite its size, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld. The population is primarily ethnic Swazis whose language is Swati and they established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III, the present boundaries were drawn up in 1881. After the Anglo-Boer War, Swaziland was a British protectorate from 1903 until 1967 and it regained its independence on 6 September 1968. The country is a monarchy, ruled by iNgwenyamaiNgwenyama Mswati III since 1986. He is head of state and appoints the prime ministers. Elections are held five years to determine the House of Assembly majority. The current constitution was adopted in 2005, Swaziland is a developing country with a small economy. Its GDP per capita of $9,714 means it is classified as a country with a lower-middle income, as a member of the Southern African Customs Union and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, its main local trading partner is South Africa. Swazilands currency, the lilangeni, is pegged to the South African rand, Swazilands major overseas trading partners are the United States and the European Union. The majority of the employment is provided by its agricultural. Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Swazi population faces major health issues, HIV/AIDS and, to a lesser extent, tuberculosis are serious challenges. As of 2013, Swaziland has a life expectancy of 50 years. The population of Swaziland is fairly young with an age of 20.5 years. The present population growth rate is 1. 195%, Swaziland is well known for its culture. Umhlanga, held in August/September and incwala, the kingship dance held in December/January, are the nations most important events, artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age, around 200,000 years ago, have been found in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from c.25,000 BC, the earliest known inhabitants of the region were Khoisan hunter-gatherers
6.
Politics of Swaziland
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Swaziland is an absolute monarchy with constitutional provisions and Swazi law and Custom. The head of state is the king or Ngwenyama, currently King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne in 1986 after the death of his father King Sobhuza II in 1982 and a period of regency. According to the constitution of Swaziland, the King and Ingwenyama is a symbol of unity, by tradition, the king reigns along with his mother or a ritual substitute, the Ndlovukati. The king appoints the prime minister from the legislature and also appoints a minority of legislators to both chambers of Libandla, with help from an advisory council, the king is allowed by the constitution to appoint some members to parliament for special interests. These special interests are citizens who might have left out by the electorate during the course of elections or did not enter as candidates. This is done to balance views in parliament, special interests could be people of gender, race, disability, business community, civic society, scholars, chiefs and so on. The Senate consists of 30 members, of some are appointed by the king on recommendation of the advisory council. Elections are held five years. According to the Swazi law and custom, the monarch holds supreme executive, legislative, the Ngwenyama is a hereditary leader, rules the country, with the assistance of a council of ministers and a national legislature. The Ndlovukati is in charge of rituals, and acts as regent if her counterpart Ngwenyama dies. If the kings mother is no living, one of the kings wives may act as Ndlovukati. Later in his reign three other women became senior queen, when an ndlovukati died, another was appointed from among his senior wives. The king and the queen mother rule together in theory, british policy and the strength of Sobhuza IIs personality shifted power decisively toward the king and away from the senior queen during his long reign. Subsequently, the constitution was revised to provide that where the Regent and the Authorised Person are not in agreement on any matter, the King, according to the new constitution, is also Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces and Commissioner of Police. He and the Queen Mother have legal immunity, succession is chosen in relation to the status of the potential kings mother. Ndlovukazi is chosen by the Royal Council after the Kings death, within the aristocracy, the first wife is never the main wife — a second wife who has a higher pedigree will take precedence. The Royal family line, the Dlaminis, never intermarry, the King is always a Dlamini, the king is not followed by blood brothers. He is Nkosi Dlamini and is expected to unify his position by choosing wives from all sectors of the community, the balance of power lies between the King and the Queen Mother
7.
Ndlovukati
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Ndlovukati is the Swazi title for the female head of state of Swaziland and is roughly equivalent to a Queen Mother or Senior Queen in other countries. The title is given preferentially to the mother of the reigning King, Indlovukati rules alongside the Ngwenyama, and when there is no King, she rules as a Queen Regent. The current Ndlovukati is Queen Ntombi Tfwala, the mother of Ngwenyama Mswati III and she has also been Queen Regent from 1983 until 1986 when Mswati became King. The most notable Queen Regent was Ndlovukati Labotsibeni Mdluli who ruled Swaziland from 1899 until 1921 when she abdicated for Sobhuza II, the Ndlovukati is formally joint ruler of Swaziland with the King. The king is seen as the head of state, while she is seen as the spiritual and national head of state. The Ndlovukati also leads the nation as Queen Regent following a Kings death, other notable Tindlovukati are Tsandzile Ndwandwe, Lojiba Simelane, Tibati Nkambule, and Labotsibeni Mdluli from nineteenth century Swaziland. Historically, there have been a number of Ndlovukati with great power as well as influence. The power of the Ndlovukati was explicitly understood as a counterweight to that of the Ngwenyama and this was the case especially during the reign of Mswati II and Tsandzile Ndwandwe. At any time there is both an Ingwenyama and an Indlovukati, which is most of the time, there are two royal headquarters villages. Even during a regency when the king is a minor, a proto-form of his headquarters is prepared, the Kings headquarters is where he carries out his administrative duties, the Ndlovukatis, which is called umphakatsi, is the national capital and spiritual and ceremonial home of the nation. The king resides at his own village or kraal called lilawu. The present umphakatsi is at Ludzidzini Royal Kraal and lilawu is at Ngabezweni Royal Kraal
8.
Ntfombi of Swaziland
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Queen Mother Ntfombi, Ndlovukati of Swaziland, has been the Ndlovukati and Joint Head of State of Swaziland since 1986. She was also regent of Swaziland from 1983 to 1986 and she is the mother of King Mswati III. In 1982, two prior to the death of King Sobhuza II, he had designated another of his wives, Queen Dzeliwe, as the Indlovukati. But instead of recognizing one of her sons as his heir apparent, he indicated to his Loqoqo that he wanted his son by Ntfombi, Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, to succeed him on the throne. Once Prince Makhosetive Dlamini attained his majority and officially became king, however, Queen Dzeliwe was placed under house arrest in 1983. Following a 9-day period during which Swaziland was ruled by Prince Sozisa Dlamini, in 1986, when he turned 18, Makhosetive was crowned King Mswati III. Upon becoming king, as was the custom, he declared his mother to be the Indlovukazi and, as such, as Queen Mother, Ntfombi is seen as the spiritual and national head of state, while her son is considered the administrative head of state. Marriage-1983, Her Majesty Queen Ntfombi, The Inkhosikati LaTfwala of Swaziland, 1983-1986, Her Majesty Queen Ntfombi, The Indlovukazi of Swaziland. 1986–present, Her Majesty Queen Ntfombi, The Ndlovukati of Swaziland
