![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/zulu-coronation-south-africas-love-affair-with-king-misuzulu/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/127409021_gettyimages-1242612570_afp_976.png&description=Image source, AFPSouth Africans are not massive fans of royalty, but the forthcoming official coronation of the new Zulu king has the nation transfixed - and is a watershed moment in its history.The event will mark a lot of firsts for the country.King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, 49, will be formally acknowledged as monarch by President Cyril Ramaphosa - the first time a black president has been involved in a Zulu coronation.It will be the first Zulu coronation since South Africa became a democracy in 1994. It will also finally put an end to the fierce family feud that dogged his succession to the throne - an embarrassing battle played out in public.The last coronation took place on a rainy day back in 1971 under the apartheid government, when King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu was crowned.Then, as now, South Africa's traditional leadership was regulated by government. But the white-minority authorities at the time expected the young monarch to wear Western attire.He attended the event in a suit - a leopard skin sash the only nod to Zulu couture.As the crowds gather at the Mabhida Stadium in the coastal city of Durban on Saturday for his son's government-backed coronation, they will be hoping for a more ostentatious display of Zulu culture when President Ramaphosa hands over the certificate that endorses Misuzulu as the ninth Zulu king."It's a joyous occasion, the beginning of a new era," explains Sihawukele Ngubane, a professor of African languages at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and expert on Zulu culture."The apartheid-era government bestowed the certificate to the king back then. This time we expect our king to wear his traditional garb because we now live in a democracy and there's absolutely no obligation for his majesty to wear British-inspired clothing."In another first, the coronation is going to be broadcast live on national television.A fifth of South Africa's population is Zulu - the country's largest ethnic group -and its monarchy has a yearly taxpayer){kind=link}
South Africans are not massive fans of royalty, but the forthcoming official coronation of the new Zulu king has the nation transfixed – and is a watershed moment in its history.
The event will mark a lot of firsts for the country.
King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, 49, will be formally acknowledged as monarch by President Cyril Ramaphosa – the first time a black president has been involved in a Zulu coronation.
It will be the first Zulu coronation since South Africa became a democracy in 1994. It will also finally put an end to the fierce family feud that dogged his succession to the throne – an embarrassing battle played out in public.
The last coronation took place on a rainy day back in 1971 under the apartheid government, when King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu was crowned.