One of the most remarkable men of the 20th century undoubtedly was King Sobhuza the Second, Lion of Swaziland. In 1898 he was anointed future King of Swaziland at the age of four months. In 1921 he ascended the throne and for 61 years he ruled his people shrewdly and well. In his lifetime he had some 100 wives and about 600 children, a record unsurpassed as far as one can discover in the annals of human stamina and productivity. His biography, properly researched and written, would make a book infinitely more interesting and instructive than 99 per cent of the dull tomes that come off the press these days recounting the lives of statesmen supposed to be world famous, but whose names fade into the dust of history before the eye blinks.
How King Sobhuza died has stayed in my mind.
