Modern Zulu On September 23, 1974, King Misuzulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini entered the world. He is King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu’s third-oldest son and the first child of his great wife, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini.

In the wake of his father’s death on March 12, 2021, King Misuzulu became the de facto ruler of the country. It wasn’t until 20 August 2022, after the ancient rite for entering the kraal, that Misuzulu was properly crowned as king of the Zulu people, though he was formally chosen to succeed King Shaka on the 20th (ukungena esibayeni).

He attended elementary school in his mother’s native Eswatini and high school in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, at St. Charles College. To commemorate the passing of his mother, King Misuzulu wed Ntokozo Mayisela on May 6, 2021.

Princess Bukhosibemvelo, sister of King Misuzulu, and former Transnet CEO Sipho Nyawo initially met at their wedding in August 2009. On May 13, 2021, King Misuzulu sent a delegation to Mayisela’s home to negotiate and pay lobola, a traditional wedding gift in the Zulu culture. Eight cows and fifty thousand rand in South African currency were reportedly inside the lobola.

The king’s second Eswatini queen, Nozizwe Mulela, is also a queen. The wedding has not yet taken place, though lobola and other cultural rites have been carried out. The monarch and his new wife have failed to produce any new heirs.