Sobhuza II

Nkhotfotjeni Dlamini — who would reign as Sobhuza II — was born at the royal residence of Zombodze, in what was then the British Protectorate of Swaziland (today the Kingdom of Eswatini), on the twenty-second of July 1899. He was the son of King Ngwane V, also called Bhunu, and of Lomawa Ndwandwe of the Nkhosi Dlamini royal house.

His father died suddenly in December 1899, while Sobhuza was but four months old. The nation's traditional council chose the infant as successor, and for more than two decades the kingdom was guided by regents — his formidable grandmother, the Queen Mother Labotsibeni Mdluli, together with Prince Malunge. In 1921 Sobhuza came of age and assumed personal rule, taking up the ancient titles of Ngwenyama and paramount chief of his people.

For six decades he devoted himself to reclaiming Swazi land alienated under colonial rule, defending Swazi custom, and steering his nation toward sovereignty. Under his patient leadership Swaziland won its independence from Britain in 1968, and he wove traditional authority together with the demands of a modern state.

By his death on the twenty-first of August 1982, Sobhuza II had reigned some eighty-two years — the longest verified reign of any monarch in recorded history. He is honored as the father of his nation, a sovereign who carried his people's dignity from the age of empires into the age of independence.