| Queen Mother Ntfombi Tfwala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ndlovukati of Swaziland | |
| Reign | 25 April 1986 – present |
| Coronation | 25 April 1986 |
| Predecessor | Dzeliwe (as Regent) |
| King | Mswati III |
| Queen Regent of Swaziland | |
| Reign | 1983 – 24 April 1986 |
| Predecessor | Sobhuza II (as King) Dzeliwe (as Queen Regent) |
| Successor | Mswati III (as King) |
| Born | c. 1950 |
| Spouse | Sobhuza II (until his death, in 1982) |
| Issue | Mswati III |
| House | Dlamini (by marriage) |
Queen Mother Ntfombi, Ndlovukati of Swaziland (born Ntfombi Tfwala c. 1950), has been the Ndlovukati and Joint Head of State of Swaziland since 1986. She was also regent of Swaziland from 1983 to 1986. She is the mother of King Mswati III. [1]
Ndlovukati is the Siswati title for the female head of state of Eswatini and is roughly equivalent to a Queen Mother or Senior Queen in other countries. The title is given preferentially to the mother of the reigning King, or to another female royal of high status if the King's mother has died. Indlovukati rules alongside the Ngwenyama, and when there is no King, she rules as a Queen Regent. The current Ndlovukati is Queen Ntombi Tfwala, the mother of Ngwenyama Mswati III and wife of Sobhuza II. She has also been Queen Regent from 1983 until 1986 when Mswati became King. The most notable Queen Regent was Ndlovukati Labotsibeni Mdluli who ruled Swaziland from 1899 until 1921 when she abdicated for Sobhuza II.
A regent is a person appointed to govern a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency. A regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. "Regent" is sometimes a formal title. If the regent is holding his position due to his position in the line of succession, the compound term prince regent is often used; if the regent of a minor is his mother, she is often referred to as "queen regent".
In 1982, two years prior to the death of King Sobhuza II, he had designated another of his wives, Queen Dzeliwe, as the Indlovukati, to reign as joint sovereign with his future successor. But instead of recognizing one of her sons as his heir apparent, he indicated to his Loqoqo that he wanted his son by Ntfombi, Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, to succeed him on the throne. In June 1982 he also extended the authority of the Loqoqo, empowering it to act as a "Supreme Council of State", free to appoint an "Authorised Person" to exercise the royal prerogative if a regent was deemed unable to do so properly. In the power vacuum that resulted from his death, Indlovukati Dzeliwe became Queen Regent during the minority of the designated heir to the throne, but the Loqoqo, consisting mostly of King Sobhuza's senior relatives, chiefs and advisors, usurped her authority and sacked Sobhuza's prime minister, Prince Mabandla Dlamini, whom Loqoqo members apparently feared would strip them of their new role. Once Prince Makhosetive Dlamini attained his majority and officially became king, his mother would then be expected to be designated as the new Indlovukati. [2]
Inkhosikati LaShongwe was Queen Regent of Swaziland between 21 September 1982 and 9 August 1983. She was a wife of king Sobhuza II of Swaziland, and with him had one child, Prince Khuzulwandle Dlamini.
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in a line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. An heir presumptive, by contrast, is someone who is first in line to inherit a title but who can be displaced by the birth of a more eligible heir.
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in the government. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and vested in a monarch with regard to the process of governance of the state, are carried out.
However, Queen Dzeliwe was placed under house arrest in 1983. Following a 9-day period during which Swaziland was ruled by Prince Sozisa Dlamini, Ntfombi was selected as queen regent.
Prince Sozisa Dlamini of Swaziland was Chief of Gundvwini. He became the Authorized Person of Swaziland from 1982 to 1985 after the death of King Sobhuza II, and in 1983 was briefly the acting Regent of the country, after he deposed Queen Dzeliwe. From 1983 he was Authorized Person to the new Queen Regent, Ntombi, with greater powers. Although lacking the title, he was for most purposes the de facto ruler of the country. He fell from power in July 1984, after being accused of planning a coup, and was suspended as Authorized Person until Queen Ntombi terminated his appointment on 1 November 1985.
In 1986, when he turned 18, Makhosetive was crowned King Mswati III. Upon becoming king, as was the custom, he declared his mother to be the Indlovukazi (a title roughly corresponding to Queen Mother, literally translated as Great She-Elephant) and, as such, Joint Head of State. As Queen Mother, Ntfombi is seen as the spiritual and national head of state, while her son is considered the administrative head of state. [3] [4] [5]
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term generally also refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other items of regalia, marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. Aside from the crowning, a coronation ceremony may comprise many other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to the monarch, and acts of homage by the new ruler's subjects and the performance of other ritual deeds of special significance to the particular nation. Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event.
Queen Mother Ntfombi's image has been widely disseminated in the West since her inclusion in Andy Warhol's portrait series during her exercise of the regency for her son, as one of four Reigning Queens, along with Queens Beatrix of the Netherlands, Margrethe II of Denmark and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. [6]
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east.
Andy Warhol was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).
Beatrix is a member of the Dutch royal family who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication on 30 April 2013.
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HM Queen Ntfombi, The Ndlovukati (Queen Mother)
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