Born in ’63, turning 63, and thirty years on the throne. The Kingdom marks the birthday of King Letsie III.
On the seventeenth of July, the Kingdom in the Sky pauses to honour its Head of State. His Majesty King Letsie III turns sixty-three, a number that carries its own quiet poetry, for he was born in 1963, at Scott Hospital in Morija, in what was then still Basutoland. This year carries a second milestone besides: three decades since his second accession to the throne in February 1996.
Few monarchs anywhere have been asked to ascend twice. Fewer still have done so with the restraint and constancy that have come to define this reign. In a region where power is so often contested loudly, Lesotho’s Crown has held to a different idea, that a King serves best as the still point of the nation, the symbol of unity above the turbulence of politics.
The Tribune extends its warmest congratulations to His Majesty, Her Majesty Queen ’Masenate, and the Royal Family, on behalf of our readers in Lesotho, across the SADC region, and in the diaspora.
The path of King Letsie III is unlike that of almost any living monarch: crowned amid crisis, an abdication made out of loyalty to his father, and a second accession that opened three decades of stability.
Prince Mohato Bereng Seeiso is born on 17 July at Scott Hospital, Morija, first son of King Moshoeshoe II and Queen ’Mamohato. He is christened David in the Roman Catholic Church.
From Iketsetseng Primary in Maseru to Ampleforth College in England, then a Bachelor of Arts in Law at the National University of Lesotho, followed by studies at Bristol, Cambridge and Wye College, law, development and agriculture, the disciplines of a working kingdom.
Returning home, the Prince is installed as Principal Chief of Matsieng on 16 December, the traditional seat of the royal house.
With King Moshoeshoe II forced into exile, the young prince is sworn in as King Letsie III in November 1990, a reluctant sovereign in a turbulent decade.
In an act with few parallels in modern monarchy, Letsie III steps down in January 1995 so that his father may be restored to the throne he had lost.
Tragedy strikes: King Moshoeshoe II dies in a motor accident on 15 January 1996. On 7 February, Letsie III is reinstated as King, the beginning of the reign that continues to this day, now in its thirty-first year.
The King is crowned on 31 October 1997 at Setsoto Stadium before dignitaries from across the world, among them the Prince of Wales.
His Majesty weds Karabo Mots’oeneng, now Her Majesty Queen ’Masenate Mohato Seeiso. The same year, he declares HIV/AIDS a national disaster, a landmark act of royal leadership that galvanised the national and international response.
Princess Senate (2001), Princess ’Maseeiso (2004) and Prince Lerotholi (2007) are born, the heir, Prince Lerotholi, securing the line of the House of Moshoeshoe.
Named African Union Nutrition Champion in 2014 and FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition in 2016, His Majesty carries Lesotho’s voice, and the cause of food security, onto the continental and global stage.
Away from ceremony, His Majesty is known for a genuine love of the land. He studied agriculture at Wye College, spends his leisure time at the family cattle posts, and is happiest in the rhythms of country life, a monarch whose interests mirror those of the Basotho nation he serves. His sporting passions run to horse riding, squash, tennis and rugby.
A devout Roman Catholic, King Letsie III holds a rare distinction: he is one of only two Catholic sovereigns of non-European lineage in the world. His faith, colleagues and clergy note, is not ornamental but central, publicly crediting divine grace at the milestones of his reign and marriage.
As patron of the Prince Mohato Award, he has put his name behind the enterprise and maturity of young Basotho, a programme of practical, cultural and adventurous achievement for the Kingdom’s youth.
The Kingdom’s partners and friends join the Tribune in wishing His Majesty a happy 63rd birthday.
