page_title: Non-sovereign monarchy
section_title: South Africa
hierarchical_section_title: Non-sovereign monarchy / Contemporary Institutions / South Africa
caption_attribution_description: Photo of Dinuzulu with wood badge beads during Zulu civil war
context_page_description: A non-sovereign monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity, and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own. The constituent states of the German Empire provide a historical example; a contemporary one is the Zulu King, whose power derives from the Constitution of South Africa.
context_section_description: The Zulu Kingdom was the independent nation state of the Zulu people, founded by Shaka kaSenzangakhona in 1816. The Kingdom was a major regional power for most of the 19th century, but eventually was drawn into conflict with the expanding British Empire, and after a reduction in territory after defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War, lost its independence in 1887, when it was incorporated into the Natal Colony, and later the Union of South Africa.
  The Zulu Kings remained pretenders to their officially abolished thrones during the 20th century, but were granted official authority by the Traditional Leadership Clause of the republican Constitution of South Africa. The constitution recognizes the right of "traditional authorities" to operate by and amend systems of customary law, and directs the courts to apply these laws as applicable. It also empowers the national and provincial legislatures to formally establish houses for and councils of traditional leaders. The Zulu King is head of this council of tribal chiefs, known as the Ubukhosi.
  The current Zulu King is Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, who reigns as King of the Zulu nation, rather than of Zululand, which is today part of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Zwelithini ascended the throne in 1971.
caption: Dinzulu kaCetshwayo, the last king of an independent Zulu state, in 1883.
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