Evolution of African royal weddings with a touch of Western influence

Marriages in these kingdoms come with all the pomp and pageantry that befit Kings and Queens with guests from other highly revered traditional authorities in attendance.

The most recent royal wedding in the continent was held in November 2023 in the Busoga Kingdom of Uganda where the ruling King (Kyabazinga), His Royal Highness Kyabazinga Willliam Gabula Nadiope IV, was the groom.

The historic royal wedding is the fifth in the Busoga kingdom, one of the four constitutional monarchies in present-day Uganda, and the 35-year-old ruler chose to marry a woman who is not a royal, Jovia Mutesi.

In September 2021, King Luzuko Matiwane of the Mpondomise Kingdom in South Africa married his bride AmaNgcwangule Princess Siyonwabele Langa in a white royal wedding ceremony held at Umngazi River Lodge near Port St Johns.

In October 2019, another royal wedding was held in South Africa when Ndebele King Makhosoke II Mabhena of Ndebele Kingdom married Lesotho’s Princess Sekhothali Seeiso. The royals married in a colourful traditional ceremony at Engwenyameni royal palace in Klipfontein, near Kwa-Mhlanga, in Mpumalanga in Eastern South Africa.

A month after, the fifth Paramount Chief of the Maseko clan in Malawi, Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani V, born Mswati Willard Maseko Gomani married his wife Inkosikathi, a maiden from Giyani in South Africa. The couple married at a church ceremony and held a reception which was attended by many royals in South Africa and Malawi.

The leader of the Rwenzururu Kingdom of Uganda, Omusinga (King) Charles Wesley Mumbere Irema Ngoma also married his Nyabaghole (Queen) Agnes Ithungu Mumbere in October 2007 at the St Paul's Cathedral Kamaiba in Kasese in the Western Region of Uganda.

One of the widely covered African weddings was held on February 18, 2000, when Lesotho King Letsie III married his then 23-year-old wife, Karabo Motsoeneng at a royal wedding at the Lesotho Independent stadium in Maseru, 4 years after his coronation. They recently celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary at the Royal Palace in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho.

Western influence

African royal weddings have been influenced by Western culture and are not devoid of controversies. The royal wedding of the Busoga Kingdom almost had an injunction placed on it after a woman, Alison Anna Dadiope, claimed to be the legal wife of the king.

She had written to the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda and Bishop of Busoga Diocese to stop the wedding with reference to a court case in the UK where she claimed that the Kyabazinga and herself were married by civil law.

According to her, the marriage happened in December 2016 and has produced two children. The Church of Uganda dismissed the request citing lack of evidence of any court injunction.

The event took place with a mix of both the customs of the kingdom and Western customs. A choir of not less than 100 members and guests of close to 2,500 people including local leaders, prominent personalities and royals from all around the country and other parts of the world were in attendance.

The royal couple said their wedding vows to seal their marriage with an exchange of rings at Christ’s Church, Bugembe in Jinja North City Division.

The wedding was officiated by the Church of Uganda Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu and attended by Vice President Jessica Alupo.

Pomp and Pageantry

The streets of Jinja City came to life after the wedding as the king marched through the crowd to greet his subjects.

A grand reception followed at the Igenge Palace, the official royal palace for the Busonga Kingdom. The magnificence and class were obvious, with many royals in attendance.

The cake was nothing short of a royal representation, an 8-tier cake designed with floral and royal designs to symbolise love and royalty for the noble couple.

African royal weddings are historic and they will continue to take on many other cultures as the world evolves.