Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Fifty-Three

There were moments as a royal where Meredith had to suck it up. She had been very political growing up, even getting a degree in politics from university, but even then, she had to suck it up. The duchess didn't know what she disagreed with more, but in the end, she had no choice. Not every moment in the monarchy was fun, which Meredith knew well, and this was one of those moments.

Swaziland used to be one of colonies of Great Britain but gained its independence in 1968. It had been a short rule over Swaziland with it being sixty years, and since then, the country had moved into a diarchy, which was a form of government ruling between two people. In this case, the king appointed the prime minister, but that wasn't who the dually ruled the country. By tradition, the king, or the Ngwenyama or "Lion," reign along with his mother, the Ndlovukati, which roughly translated to "She-Elephant."

Since gaining independence, it hadn't been smooth sailing for the country in an outsider's perspective. While he was respected and liked to Swaziland, his policies and lifestyle led to local protests and international issues. A lot of those issues came from the current king, who took power in 1986. At fourteen years old, Prince Makhosetive— at the time— was named future king. His mother, Inkhosikati LaTfwala, and another one of the king's wives, Inkhosikati LaShongwe, were regents until he was brought home from England to reign. His father, Sobhuza II, had more than 125 wives during his 82 year reign. The former Prince Makhosetive and now King Mswati III had fifteen wives and 23 children.

Meredith really wanted to make the joke about one wife being bad enough to Harry, but this wasn't the time or the place. Meredith wore most of her body covered due to Christian restrictions.

In preparation for this trip to Swaziland, Meredith had been grilled by Jessica on the royals. Jessica didn't know who was going to be attending, so the duchess was meant to know every single member.

Upon entering the palace, the duke met the king first, and Meredith followed behind. Down the line, the mothers followed by their children were lined up. In this absolute monarchy, just because a child was born first did not mean that it had a tighter control of throne; even though His Royal Highness Prince Sicalo was first in line, any number of his siblings had the ability to become the next royal.

The Duke of Windsor greeted King Mswati III correctly, and the two got along great. The king took the royal couple down the line himself. His first two wives were chosen for him by his councilors, but the rest of his wives were of his own choosing. According to the tradition, he had the ability to have many fiancees, but they had no ability to marry until she was pregnant, proving there was going to be heirs.

His mother, Ndlovukati Tfwala, was in front of all the wives, and the duchess curtsied to the queen mother. Down the line, Meredith did a lot of curtsying because each of the inkhosikati or queen was above her. Next in line was the king's first wife, Inkhosikati LaMatsebula, who had a degree in psychology, followed by her two sons, HRH Prince Sicalo and Prince Maveletiveni. His second wife was Inkhosikati LaMosta, who had been the United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador since 1996, followed by her sons: Prince Majahonkhe, Prince Buhlebenkhosi, Prince Lusuku, Prince Sinawonkhe and Prince Benkhosi.

Next in line were the wives that the king had chosen. Inkhosikati LaMbikiza stood with her two sons, Prince Lindani and Prince Makhosini. The king's eldest daughter, Princess Sikhanyiso, was nowhere to be found, which was a sore subject. The princess took after her mother. LaMbikiza was an advocate for fighting HIV/AIDs. There was also a rumor that she poisoned the king to have her son become the next king. Princess Sikhanyiso developed a reputation for being a rebel against her country's tradition, including wearing Western-style clothes of jeans and miniskirts when women in Swaziland were not allowed. The princess was quite a feminist and openly criticized polygamy. The duchess was told to specifically not say anything.