The proverb “different country, different manners” definitely applies to the royal family in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland or the Kingdom of Swaziland), which is located in the south of Africa. While in Europe it would be unthinkable for a princess to dance bare-breasted in public, in this traditional African absolutist monarchy it is completely normal. Her Royal Highness Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini is proud of the customs of her ancestors and strives to set an example in following them.
She took a liking to the western lifestyle
Princess Sikhanyiso is the eldest daughter of King Mswati III. and his third wife, Sibonelo Mngometulu. Sikhanyiso was born on September 1, 1987 in the town of Mbabane in what was then Swaziland and was pampered and raised in luxury by her parents from an early age. She later studied incognito at prestigious schools in Britain, the USA and Australia, where she obtained, for example, a master’s degree in digital communication. She lived a normal student life, cooked for herself, and practically no one around her at the time knew that she was the king’s daughter.
At this stage in her life, the royal daughter was often criticized in her homeland for succumbing too much to the Western lifestyle during her studies abroad and somewhat forgetting her home customs. There was an uproar when it emerged that she had started wearing miniskirts, which were banned for women in Eswatini until 2012. In 2003, for a change, the public was outraged by a report in the local press which claimed that Princess Sikhanyiso had gone on a trip to the United States and Britain, for which the Swazi government at the time spent one hundred thousand US dollars. However, the prime minister’s office immediately denied this claim.
Cane spanking for a princess
Two years later, she continued her rebellion when she threw a wild party at the royal residence. At the same time, it was a celebration of the abolition of the decree on compulsory chastity, which had been previously issued by her father. But this time she didn’t get away without punishment. For dishonoring the residence of the Queen Mother, she received a caning from an official overseeing the traditional affairs of the monarchy. But even then she did not “improve”, and a year later she came out in the media with a statement in which she openly condemned the practice of polygamy, which, according to her, only benefits men, but is unfair and wrong for women. After this scandal, the Royal Palace made sure that the princess could no longer speak to the media “until she comes to her senses”.
She dances half-naked at the Reed Dance
After returning from her studies, Princess Sikhanyiso “rebelled” over the years and today she is trying, among other things, to preserve the specific culture in Eswatini. It is significantly involved, for example, in the organization of the ceremonial ceremony of the Reed Dance called Umhlanga, which is attended by up to 40,000 half-naked girls and young unmarried women in Eswatini every year. According to the old custom, all the participants should be virgins, but nowadays it is not so often the case. Nevertheless, this ritual and the associated eight-day festival are still perceived by local residents as a majestic celebration of girlish innocence, but also of female beauty and togetherness.
The princess helps with his preparations, then goes to cut reeds with a group of girls, and then proudly walks bare-chested with her royal sisters at the head of the procession, dressed in a colorful costume and adorned with a crown of red feathers in her hair. Finally, he participates in group dance performances, sometimes even performing solo. In addition, she can also be seen in this way during other important celebrations or anniversaries, during which the local girls and women also show off their beauty to the audience.
Foto: Amada44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini (left) in 2006 in traditional dress.
Politician and rapper
With this act of hers, Princess Sikhanyiso won the sympathy of the general public, but this is far from the only meritorious activity she does for the benefit of her country. She reassessed her past and admitted that many of her views, including her stance on polygamy, had changed since her studies. From November 2018 to July 2023, she worked as a politician, holding the post of Minister of Information and Communication Technologies Eswatini. She founded a foundation for girls and women that focuses on health, education and spirituality, is the chairwoman of a beauty pageant and is involved in a number of charity projects.
Although she perceives her life primarily as “service to the motherland”, she admitted that if she could choose completely freely, she would like to devote herself much more to rap. After all, Princess Sikhanyiso loves music, has a sonorous voice and is an up-and-coming actress and rapper in Eswatini known as ‘Pashu’. She even recorded a single in honor of her father. She herself perceives rap as a way to express herself freely, because, according to her words, she lives in isolation to a large extent behind the walls of the palace.
He will most likely not sit on the royal throne
Although Princess Sikhanyiso is the eldest of 36 children of the absolutist monarch, King Mswati III, the likelihood of her becoming the next queen is slim, according to her. In Eswatini, succession is hereditary and optional, hardly discussed within the family or in public. However, it is assumed that a man from the Dlamini dynasty, which has ruled the country for four centuries, will again sit on the royal throne in the future.
On the other hand, Princess Sikhanyiso and above all her father, the controversial King Mswati III. also sometimes criticized for the way they handle taxpayers’ money. While the royal family is “drowning” in luxury generously financed from the state budget, most ordinary people live in poverty. Criticism is also aimed at underestimating the situation in the area of prevention of risky behavior leading to the spread of venereal diseases. Eswatini is the first in the world regarding HIV infection. According to statistics, 27 percent of the country’s population is infected with this in this African country.
Despite everything, Princess Sikhanyiso is currently one of the most popular members of the Dlamini royal family and continues to be very popular with the “common people”. She became a mother for the first time in 2020, giving birth to Prince Phikolwezwe called “Phiko” and in 2023 she gave birth to a boy named Mbutfo Lonjinga. His father is the princess’s current boyfriend, soldier Khayelihle Patrick Dlamini, for whom the princess bought a luxury Mercedes-Benz car, how else but with public money…
At the same time, the 36-year-old princess considers motherhood to be her best experience in life, and it is for the sake of her own and other children that she wants to make the Kingdom of Eswatini a more developed country in the future than it is today.
PIKNER, Linda. Swaziland. A Brief History of the States. Prague: Libri, 2013. ISBN 978-80-7277-512-5.
NAZAROV, Petr. South Africa: Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa. [Praha]: Petr Nazarov, [2015]. ISBN 978-80-905208-8-2.
