Britain’s Prince Charles and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini revisited the fraught history of conflict between their nations as they met on Friday at the site of the last battle of the Anglo-Zulu War.
The two royals rehashed the history of the 1879 conflict in speeches at Ondini Palace in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province, the place where the British army carried out its final rout of former Zulu king Cetshwayo’s forces, razing his palace to the ground and effectively ending the independence of the Zulu nation.
“Our relationship has not always been entirely smooth, but it has always been characterized by deep admiration and respect,” said Charles, who arrived in South Africa on Wednesday for a four-day visit with his wife, Camilla.
“Our meeting is but the latest in a long line and brings our relationship into the 21st century,” Charles added.
Zwelithini, the traditional leader of the Zulu people — South Africa’s largest ethnic group — gave the prince a portrait of former king Cetshwayo.
Charles reciprocated with a silver cup, which he said echoed the one given to Cetshwayo by Britain’s Queen Victoria after the king visited her in 1882 and asked to be allowed to return home from forced exile.
“Our great nation, the Zulus, and the British share a very rich history that is both good and not so good,” Zwelithini said in his speech.
“Our meeting today marks a new beginning between our nations, an era of mutual respect and cooperation,” he added.
Charles and Camilla were greeted at the palace by an honor guard of Zulu warriors in traditional dress and serenaded by three royal praise singers as they made their way to a tented dining room where they exchanged gifts with their hosts.
They were scheduled to visit a game reserve later in the day before traveling to Cape Town, where the prince will give a speech on climate change.
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