AmaZulu Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu has passed away.
Prime Minister of the Zulu Monarch, Mangosuthu Buthelezi confirmed the news on Thursday night.
Buthelezi said that her passing had taken the Zulu royal household by surprise and left them utterly bereft but promised that there would be no leadership vacuum in the Zulu royal household and nation.
It was expected that her eldest son, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, would take over as the next king after a three-month mourning period.
The queen’s death comes just weeks after AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini passed away.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent his condolences to the amaZulu nation following the passing of Queen Mantfombi LaDlamini Zulu just over a month after the nation lost its king.
In a statement on Friday morning, President Ramaphosa said that the country stood with the royal family and amaZulu in their compounded grief.