Date of Birth: 22 July 1899
House: Swasi
Spouse(s): Many including Dzeliwe Shongwe and Ntombi IaTwala
Predecessor: Ngwane V
Reign: 1899 – 1982
Summary: Ruling over Swaziland for over eight decades, Ngwenyama Sobhuza first became king at the age of four months in 1899. His grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli, served as his regent for the next 22 years, serving through World War I and the darkest days of colonialism in South Africa. In 1921, Sobhuza II took over as paramount chief and oversaw his government emerge from colonial British control into a constitutional monarchy in 1968. In that year, he became the first king of Swaziland, ruling for five years under the control of a parliament. However, Sobhuza was not a king to be trifled with and on 12 April 1973, he repealed the Swaziland constitution and took direct control over the government. Beginning in 1980, he attempted to conquer neighboring KaNgwane, a region in South Africa that had been set aside for blacks during apartheid. The king died in 1982, leaving his son, Mswati, as his heir under a regency to be led by one of his wives. Dynastic and family squabbles delayed Mswati's coronation until 1986. Of his 210 children, one of them married the king of the Zulu Nation in South Africa, while another married the daughter of Nelson Mandela. When Sobhuza died, he was the verifiably longest-reigning monarch in world history, second only to King Pepi II of Ancient Egypt, whose age at death is disputed.
Date of Death: 21 August 1982
Successor: Mswati III
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
- Alfonso VII, king of León & Castile (1157)
- Ugyen Wangchuck, king of Bhutan (1926)
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