The King Who Ruled Longer Than Any Other

Over time, the world has heard of history of kings and queens. But as there are ordinary rulers, there are also extraordinary ones. Today, we will take a look at the king who ruled far longer than any other king in the world. NGWENYAMA SOBHUZA II was the Paramount Ruler and the King of Swaziland for a mind-blowing 82 years and 9 months!!! 

King Sobhuza II of Swaziland in his traditional attire.

The current King of Swaziland and Sobhuza's son, King Mswati III.

Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini, one of King Sobhuza II's over 1,000 grandchildren.

He succeeded the throne on December 10, 1899 when he was just a few months old However, Sobhuza II's grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli acted as the Regent until 1921. 

 It was under Sobhuza II that Swaziland gained independence from Britain and the current king, Mswati III is often referred to as Africa's last absolute monarch. Swaziland is in southern Africa and the capital is Mbabane. 

Well, there is another aspect of this great king that Iyaniwura will not forget to point out: he was prolific and polygamous, as is the tradition in Swaziland, where the king picks a new virgin wife every year in the annual Reed Dance. King Sobhuza II married 70 wives and had 210 children. That will give us about three kids per wife. Well, around 30 of the kids died during infancy while there are 97 sons and daughters still alive today. As at the time he died in 1982, he had more than 1,000 grandchildren! Ogalagaju! Opa eyin buruku nbe ni Swaziland o!