WHAT THE HILLS OF ZULULAND WHISPERED
Many people have a fascination with royalty. Type this search term into your streaming service and youʼll be delighted with an array of movies and documentaries dedicated to the European royals. But sadly, limited interest is shown in royal lines within our own land.
Located in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Zululand is a place of striking contrasts, seat of the 19th-century kingdom where Shaka built the Zulu nation in the early 1800s. Kings Dingane, Mpande and Cetshwayo continued to build on Shakaʼs efforts, defending the land against British and Boer. With this remarkable lineage in mind, I steered for Zululand in the new Land Rover Defender, a car brand endorsed by the British royals. My particular interest was King Cetshwayo, leader of the Zulu nation during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.
At the outset, Cetshwayo enjoyed some support from the British, who had schemes to create a union of South Africa. However, Lord Chelmsford considered the Zulu nation a threat to the empire, and it culminated in a campaign to annex the Zulu kingdom.
When war broke out in early 1879, King Cetshwayoʼs
