Cape Town, South Africa – King Charles on Tuesday 22 November 2022, talked of the strong friendship between the late queen Elizabeth and Former South African president Nelson Mandela, as the king hosted a state visit by South Africa’s current president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We must acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past if we are to unlock the power of our common future.” said King Charles.
Hosting the first state visit of his reign, King Charles spoke warmly of Previous meetings between the Royal Family and South Africa’s former president Mandela, who he praised for helping to move his country towards democracy.
As the world mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II a few months ago, Zelda la Grange, who was Mandela’s Private secretary from 1994 to 2013, could not help but reveal details of the warm friendship they shared bonded over their common sense of duty and service.
This was evidenced way back in 1996 in a state visit to Buckingham palace in London, where he was given the prestigious honor of travelling in the same horse-drawn royal carriage with the queen passing through the streets of London.
This friendship wasn’t like any other, as Mandela also had a special name for the queen, “Motlalepul” which according to the Nelson Mandela foundation meant to come with rain and was given as a token of “our affection to her majesty”.
There’s a time when Mandela’s sense of humor spurred during a meeting in Buckingham palace when he walked up to the queen and said ‘Elizabeth you’ve lost weight!’ and the queen burst out laughing, as noted by Zelda.
The friendship between these two leaders will continue to be commemorated in the annals of history.