The AmaZulu royal house has remained mum on swelling speculation about Queen Nozizwe Mulela’s marriage to the AmaZulu king MisuZulu kaZwelithini being on the rocks.
According to royal insiders, the union between the king and kaMulela was so severely strained that it had to be brought to the attention of eSwatini’s monarch, King Mswati III, to mediate.
King Mswati III is the brother of MisuZulu’s late mother queen Matfombi Dlamini, the third wife of the late AmaZulu king Zwelithini kaBhekuZulu.
“The problem is the king has completely lost interest in rekindling the relationship with the queen. So, he wants out completely from the relationship. The elders have tried to intervene, but it seems the relationship cannot be saved,” said the insider, who is not authorised to speak to the media.
“Even during the recent coronation at the Moses Mabhida [Stadium], you would have seen she did not enter the venue with the king. She was treated like a commoner.
“She was also seated elsewhere, while kaMayisela was next to the king.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, another insider said the last straw that broke the camel’s back was when MisuZulu announced during a family meeting he only had one wife, Queen Ntokozo Mayisela-Zulu.
“It’s not clear what could have led to the fallout because it’s a few months since lobola was paid for Queen Nozizwe. The matter has been kept under wraps because the royal house feels that MisuZulu as the new king doesn’t need negative publicity. What makes the separation more imminent is that the estranged couple do not have any children together.”
Sunday World has also established that because of the hostile relationship between the king and his wife, Queen Mulela has chosen to focus on her career as a bank executive in eSwatini.
In March, a delegation from the royal house travelled to eSwatini, where they paid 25 head of cattle, asking for her hand in marriage. .
Liezl Van der Merwe, spokesperson for Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch, said the matter was private.
MisuZulu’s spokesperson Prince Thulani Zulu did not respond to questions sent to him.
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