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Swaziland Royal flags

by Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001

Royal standard (1986 - )
Royal standard (1968-1982)

See also:

Swaziland

Royal Standard (1986 - )

During the recent XIX ICV in York Bruce Berry gave a talk on the "Royal Standards of Southern Africa". One of those he described is the "new" Royal flag of Swaziland (under King Mswati III). We do not yet have a gif on FOTW-ws; so I took a photo of the actual example Bruce Berry showed us and made a gif accordingly.
Description of the flag:
The flag (proportions 2:3) consists of five horizontal stripes (3:2:10:2:3) of blue-yellow-red-yellow-blue. This is the pattern of the Swaziland national flag; however, the yellow stripes are somewhat wider than usually depicted (on FOTW-ws, in [smi75g] or [zna99]). The red is not that brownish or purplish as usually shown. In the central red stripe there is a yellow lion guardant (head to the hoist). In the upper blue stripe there are three devices (from hoist to fly): the shield (with spears etc.) as used in the national flag, but black-and-white; a device that looks like a traditional hairdo (it is similar to the crest of the Swaziland CoA, described as royal head decoration in [smi75g]); a black device resembling a simple drawing of an archer (similar to part of the device in the flag of the PUDEMO party.
In the lower blue stripe there are also three devices (from hoist to fly): the "archer"; a kind of a Gothic type of letters, I'm suggesting the reading: M III R (Mswati III Rex); and the shield.
Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001

King Sobhuza's death on 21 August 1982 precipitated a prolonged power struggle within the royal family. Initially the Queen Mother, Queen Regent Dzeliwe, assumed the regency and appointed 15 members to the Liqoqo, a traditional advisory body which Sobhuza had sought to establish as the Supreme Council of State. However, due to confusion over the status of the Liqoqo, a power struggle ensued between the Prime Minister, who sought to assert the authority of the Cabinet over the Liqoqo, and members of the Liqoqo. The Queen Regent was pressurised by the Liqoqo to dismiss the Prime Minister and replace him with a Liqoqo supporter. Subsequently a power struggle revolved around Queen Dzeliwe until she was placed under house arrest by the Liqoqo in October 1983. The Liqoqo subsequently installed Queen Ntombi Laftwala, mother of the 14 year old heir apparent, Prince Makhosetive, as queen regent in late October, and she accepted the Liqoqo as the supreme body in Swaziland. Prince Makhosetive was subsequently crowned King Mswati III on 25 April 1986.

A new royal standard for King Mswati III replaced that used by King Sobhuza II. The design follows the same basic pattern of the previous royal standard and the national flag. The lion symbol of King Sobhuza has been replaced with another lion, which is now the most prominent feature on the flag. This lion is now orientated to the hoist but faces the observer (statant guardant) on the central maroon stripe. Small Emasotsha Regiment shields, of the same type found on the national fl