DURBAN — Swazi King Mswati III (45) has chosen 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant Sindiswa Dlamini as his 15th wife.
Independent
Dlamini was selected at the annual Reed Dance, where thousands of Swazi maidens dance bare-breasted for the king’s pleasure. “I wish to confirm we have a new liphovela (royal fiancée),” Hlangabeza Mdluli, the overseer of the maidens, announced.
Dlamini was presented to the king and the Swazi people at a Reed Dance in the southern provincial capital, Nhlangano, on Saturday.
The main Reed Dance, at which Mswati has chosen previous wives, was held in central Swaziland last month. In recent years, an additional Reed Dance has been held in the south to broaden the king’s choice from his young female subjects.
Dlamini was a finalist in the Swaziland Miss Cultural Heritage beauty pageant this year.
