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Sobhuza II

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Sobhuza II

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King of Swaziland (1899-1982)

Key facts

Reign
10 December 1899 – 21 August 1982
Coronation
22 December 1921
Predecessor
Bhunu
Successor
Mswati III
Queen mother
See list Labotsibeni Mdluli (until 1921) Lomawa Ndwandwe (1921–1938) Nukwase Ndwandwe (1938–1957) Zihlathi Ndwandwe/Mkhatjwa (1957–1975) Seneleleni Ndwandwe (1975–1980) Dzeliwe Shongwe (since 1980)
Born
Nkhotfotjeni Dlamini , ( 1899-07-22 ) 22 July 1899, Zombodze , Swaziland
Died
21 August 1982 (1982-08-21) (aged 83), Mbabane , Swaziland
Burial
Mbilaneni
Spouse
70 wives (including Dzeliwe Shongwe and Ntfombi Tfwala )
Issue
210 children (including Mswati III )
House
House of Dlamini
Father
Bhunu
Mother
Lomawa Ndwandwe

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
Eswatini
Place of birth
Zombodze
Place of death
Mbabane
Father
Ngwane V
Occupation
politician
Noble title
king
Image
King Sobhuza II, 1945 (cropped).jpg
Number of children
210
Show 4 more facts
date of birth
1899-07-22
date of death
1982-08-21
Commons category
Sobhuza II
name in native language
Sobhuza II
Sources (3)

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Encyclopedic overview

Sobhuza II KBE ( Swazi: [sɔbʱuzʱa]; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona; 22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was Ngwenyama (King) of Swaziland (now Eswatini) for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history.

Sobhuza was born on 22 July 1899 at Zombodze Royal Residence, the son of Inkhosikati Lomawa Ndwandwe and King Bhunu. When he was only four months old, his father died suddenly while dancing incwala. Sobhuza was chosen king soon after that and his grandmother Labotsibeni and his great-uncle Prince Malunge, a son of Mbandzeni, led the Swazi nation until his maturity in 1921. Sobhuza was acknowledged as King by the British in 1967, and Swaziland achieved independence in 1968. Sobhuza continued to reign until his death in 1982. He was succeeded by Mswati III, his young son with Inkhosikati Ntfombi Tfwala, who was crowned in 1986.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sobhuza II” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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