King Letsie III Of Lesotho Weds South African Woman

Jet, March 6, 2000

King Letsie III of Lesotho had made light of his bachelor status in 1997, the year after his coronation, by appealing to African leaders at a meeting to help him find a bride.

Recently, Letsie kissed his bachelor days good-bye when he married a South African commoner, 23-year-old Karabo Motsoeneng, during a ceremony which drew fellow African royals, heads of state and tens of thousands of Basotho.

King Letsie, who functions as a ceremonial head of state, had been regarded as one of the country's most eligible bachelors.

But, unlike other African monarchs who are known to take up to five wives, Letsie has said that Motsoeneng, who has been living and studying in South Africa for several years, will be his one and only bride.

"I've always believed that if I get married, the marriage will be strictly monogamous," he said in an interview with South African public SABC television.

A devout Roman Catholic, Letsie attends mass every Sunday and asked Archbishop Bernard Mohlalisi to preside over the wedding which took place under a pure white canvas canopy erected in the center of Maseru's Setsotso Stadium.

Letsie said his family had long been praying for the day when he would take a bride.

"God has answered that prayer today," he said, adding that his bride had "taken pity on an old man" when she agreed to marry him.