Succession to the Swazi throne

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Succession to the Swazi throne" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In Eswatini, no king (Ngwenyama, 'lion') can appoint his successor. Instead, on the demise of a king, the Liqoqo, an independent traditional council, decides which of his wives shall be "great wife" and Indlovukazi, 'She-Elephant'. The son^{[further explanation needed]} of the chosen Indlovukazi will automatically become the next king.^[1]

The Indlovukazi is chosen after the death of the king and must be of good character. Her character affects her child's chances of ascending to the status of king. According to Swazi culture, a son cannot be the heir if his mother is not of good standing. She must not bear the maiden name of Nkhosi-Dlamini, as Dlamini is the name of the royal house^{[further explanation needed]} and she must not be a ritual wife (see next paragraph).^[2]

The current king, Mswati III, has 11 wives (2 have permanently left him and 2 are deceased), 39 children and 13 grandchildren.^[3] The first two wives of a Swazi king are chosen for him by the national councillors. These two have special functions in rituals and their sons can never become kings. The first wife must be a member of the Matsebula clan, the second of the Motsa clan. These wives are known as tesulamsiti.

A royal fiancée is called liphovela, or "bride". They graduate from being fiancées to full wives as soon as they fall pregnant, when the king customarily marries them. However, the traditional marriage, known as “Ludvendve” (marriage to the king) only follows later.^[4]

In traditional Swazi culture, the king is expected to marry a woman from every clan in order to cement relationships with each part of Eswatini. This means that the king must have many wives.^[2]