DUNDEE KZN: King Goodwill Zwelithini passes on
He was a regular VIP at the battle of Isandlwana re-enactment
King Goodwill Zwelithini has passed away in hospital.
The news was announced by the Zulu Royal House earlier this morning. He had been admitted to hospital following complications related to diabetes.
He took the throne on December 3, 1971, after his 21st birthday and his first marriage. Zwelithini was installed as the eighth monarch of the Zulus at a traditional ceremony at Nongoma attended by over 20 000 people.
King Goodwill was a regular VIP at the annual battle of Isandlwana re-anctment and cut a splendid, regal figure in traditional Zulu attire.
More details will be released soon, the Royal House said. He is survived by six wives and 28 children.
Ian Knight, UK-based historian and author who is a regular visitor to the battlefields and narrated at the last re-enctment of the battle of Isandlwana, told the Courier this morning that he had just woken up to hear the news of the death of His Majesty King Goodwill.
“A great shock and a sad day for his family and for the Zulu kingdom. In recent years His Majesty had been very active in commemorating Zulu heritage, particularly the battle of Isandlwana, and only in 2019 was the first Zulu King to visit the Houses of Parliament in London since his forebear King Cetshwayo in 1882.”
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