King Misuzulu kaZwelithini's "jilted" bride-to-be, Nomzamo Myeni, surprised everyone when she showed up at the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday.
Myeni's anticipated royal wedding, scheduled to take place late last month, was postponed days before the event.
The king is understood to have sent a cow to Myeni's home in Jozini to appease her family and cited being in seclusion for the postponement, with many royal and cultural commentators suggesting the wedding was off the cards.
The arrival of another suitor, Sihle Mdluli from Mpumalanga, was set to have sealed her fate as "mother of the nation" when she took centre stage at official royal events.
Mdluli is in her early 20s and hails from Mawewe traditional authority in Mbombela, where her mother Khulile Mkhatshwa is an inkhosi. She attended an imbizo on Friday called by the king at Mashobeni royal palace in Nongoma.
She was also present at the final ritual of the Umkhosi Wokweshwama ceremony at the palace and was formally introduced to the royal family.
The king's right-hand man, who is his representative in the KZN House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, Prince Gumbela Zulu, said he didn't understand why people were surprised when they saw Myeni at the opening of the legislature.
"Myeni has always accompanied the king — and even today, she was just doing something she has been doing before," he said.
Prince Gumbela said Myeni had a right to be at the opening of the legislature, like everyone. "Her arrival has nothing to do [with her marrying] the king or not."
Prince Gumbela confirmed the king's new queen-to-be last week.
The uncertainty of the wedding was fuelled by a letter, purportedly written by the king, instructing Nonhlanhla Mkhize, director-general in the office of premier Thami Ntuli, to withdraw with immediate effect all benefits assigned to her, including security.
Amid that uncertainty, Myeni attended the commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana in Nquthu last month. She was seated next to the king.
The king is also embroiled in a legal battle with his first wife, Queen Ntokozo Mayisela, on whom he served divorce papers last month.
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