Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini (; born 1 September 1987) is a Swazi

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

and politician. She is the eldest daughter of King

Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama yemaSwati) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wi ...

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, and is the country's current Minister of Information and Communication Technology.

Early life and education

Sikhanyiso Dlamini was educated in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

at a mixed

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

St Edmund's College, Ware St Edmund's College is a coeducational independent day and boarding school in the British public school tradition, set in in Ware, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operating and ...

, in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, where she was in Challoner House. She continued to study drama at

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2012, Princess Sikhanyiso graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

with a master's degree in digital communication. While in Australia, she resided in

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

with her palace-appointed aide, Yemma Sholo. She is the first child of Inkhosikati LaMbikiza and has more than two hundred blood-related uncles and aunts through her grandfather, King

Sobhuza II Sobhuza II, (; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona; 22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was the Paramount Chief and later Ngwenyama of Swaziland for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history. Sobhuza was ...

, who had seventy wives and two hundred and one children. She is also one of his one thousand grandchildren in the Royal Swazi

House of Dlamini The House of Dlamini is the royal house of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Mswati III, as king and Ngwenyama of Eswatini, is the current head of the house of Dlamini. Swazi kings up to the present day are referred to as ''Ingwenyama'' and they rule toge ...

. She is the first-born of thirty children born to

King Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama yemaSwati) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger w ...

and Inkhosikati LaMbikiza. She has two hundred aunts and uncles, not including their spouses. In 2001, Mswati III instituted the '' umchwasho''—a traditional chastity rite—in Swaziland as a means of combating the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

epidemic. The princess became a focus of controversy because while she was staying abroad, she was not bound by the strictures of the ''umchwasho''. While studying abroad, Princess Sikhanyiso developed a reputation for ignoring or rebelling against her native country's traditions.

Controversies

Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini at Reed Dance Festival 2006-011

On 14 December 2003, a report appeared in the ''

Times of Swaziland The ''Times of Swaziland'' is a newspaper in Eswatini (formerly called Swaziland). It is the oldest newspaper in Eswatini, having been established in 1897 by Allister Mitchel Miller (1864-1951). References External links * {{Media in Eswatin ...

'' claiming that Princess Sikhanyiso had gone on a trip to the US and Britain, and that the Swazi government had spent close to E1 million (

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

100,000) on her trip. The prime minister's office subsequently issued a press statement denying these claims. At the end of the ban in 2005, Princess Sikhanyiso, then seventeen years old, celebrated with a party involving loud music and alcohol at the Queen mother's residence. As punishment for the princess's disrespect of the royal residence, during which Mswati announced his engagement to a new wife-to-be, an official overseeing traditional affairs beat Princess Sikhanyiso with a stick. The following year, the princess criticized the institution of

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

in Swaziland, saying, "Polygamy brings all advantages in a relationship to men, and this to me is unfair and evil." The princess was subsequently "gagged" by the Royal Palace and the press was not allowed to contact her. She was featured in a 2007 documentary titled '' Without the King'' about the monarchy in Eswatini, the disparity between the royals' wealth and the widespread poverty of their subjects, and Eswatini's

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

crisis.

Achievements

The king supported the princess with her launch of the Imbali Foundation in April 2014. The foundation focuses on the health, education, and spirituality of Imbali YemaSwati (the regiment of Swazi maidens headed by the Inkhosatana or chief maiden). The princess runs the beauty pageant Miss Swaziland Tourism. The Swaziland Deaf Association requested her patronage for Miss Deaf Africa and received the government's support. The princess is an aspiring actress and rapper and is commonly known as "Pashu" in Eswatini. During her brief stay in Malaysia for an internship program at Limkokwing University, she recorded a single titled "Hail Your Majesty" in honour of her father, the king. The debut of the tribute song received a standing ovation at Limkokwing during the conferment of an honorary doctorate to King Mswati III on 4 July 2013. The princess is a member of the board of directors of MTN Swaziland, a multinational mobile

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

company. She has appointed a businessman from Malaysia, the director of MyStartBiz

Sdn Bhd A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, certain Commonwealth countries, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareholders with limit ...

, Muhammad Qadeer, as her special envoy for investment promotion in the Kingdom of Swaziland. She recently recuse herself from being Miinister of ICT

Discography

# "Abeze Kim" (feat M'du and Prince Lindani) # "Hail Your Majesty"

Ancestry

References

External links

eSwatini Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dlamini, Sikhanyiso Swazi royalty Biola University alumni University of Sydney alumni Living people 1987 births African princesses People from Mbabane Communication ministers of Eswatini Information ministers of Eswatini Women government ministers of Eswatini