King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has apologised after a leaked video showed him insulting Queen Nomzamo kaMyeni and later calling Shembe Nazareth Baptist Church leader, Inkosi Mduduzi Nyazilwezulu Shembe of eBuhleni, an idiot.
The fallout has sparked serious debate about royal conduct and the standards expected of those who occupy the throne, writes Celani Sikhakhane in Mzansi Royals.
On Friday, former AbaThembu Queen Dr Nolubabalo Mcinga added her voice to the debate, calling on the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, to establish a National Royal Leadership, Induction and Wellness Programme for Kings, Queens and members of royal households.
Her call is not without precedent, Cogta’s own Kings Forum, launched by Hlabisa last year, already exists, with a Queens formation reportedly in the works.
Dr Mcinga believes many royals struggle with the weight of what they’ve taken on, guardianship not just of a marriage, but of a throne and a nation’s heritage.
“Having served within a royal household, I understand that monarchy cannot be measured by the standards of an ordinary marriage. A King is not merely a husband. He is the custodian of a nation’s customs, traditions, heritage and royal lineage. His life belongs to the throne long before it belongs to himself.
Likewise, when a woman becomes a Queen, she does not marry only a man, she enters into a covenant with the throne. She becomes a servant of the Kingdom, a guardian of its heritage, a mother within the royal family, and a pillar of the institution,” said Dr Mcinga.
She said her own time as Queen of the AbaThembu Kingdom taught her this directly.
“There were moments when I sat beside my King and spoon-fed him, as one patiently feeds a child, washed him and attended to his personal needs. Those acts were never acts of humiliation or coercion. They were expressions of honour, service and reverence for the office he occupied and for the institution we both served,” she said.
She said her concern extends beyond the Zulu and AbaThembu monarchs to royal households across South Africa.
The late Dr Vusi Shongwe of Amafa Heritage in KwaZulu-Natal raised a similar concern years ago, arguing that African royals need a formal institution to prepare them for the demands of royal life.
Royal households elsewhere face similar tensions.
In the British monarchy, senior royals, including Princess Anne, have faced public scrutiny over whether they observed correct curtsy protocol toward Queen Camilla. In Monaco, Prince Albert II faced years of scrutiny over his handling of his son, Alexandre Grimaldi, born outside marriage.
Pictured above: Dr Nolubabalo Mcinga of the Amangxongo Royal Council, calling for the induction of Queens in South Africa to protect the monarchies.
Image source: Supplied
