Africa used to boast a rich royal heritage, where kings ruled supreme over their communities and countries.
Although many essentially performed a ceremonial role, the kings garnered substantial respect and wielded significant influence among their people.
Today just three monarchies remain in Africa – one in Morocco and two in the tiny southern nations of Lesotho and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.
The richest of these is Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, who succeeded to the throne in 1999, following the death of his father King Hassan.
King Mohammed is a member of the Alawi dynasty, which has been in power since 1631 and is the 23rd in line.
The House of Shorafa Alawi claims to be descended from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and is the world’s second-oldest ruling dynasty.
The current king has amassed a fortune that is estimated to be worth a whopping US$2.1billion (£1.7bn), making him almost three times richer than Britain’s monarch King Charles III.
Morocco’s monarch is also a prominent and influential banker, and his family owns a large stake in Société Nationale d’Investissement (SNI), a private investment fund with a pan-African vocation.
King Charles III is by no means a pauper, and is estimated to have a net worth of around £610million, according to the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List.
This is significantly more than that of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose fortune was said to be £384m.
King Charles’ most valuable assets are the two estates of Sandringham and Balmoral.
Sandringham is a 20,000-acre estate in the east of the country and is estimated to be worth approximately £257m.
The Balmoral estate includes the Aberdeenshire castle and 50,000 acres in land, and is thought to be worth £216m.
Eswatini’s monarch lags a fair distance behind King Mohammed VI when it comes to personal wealth.
Ascending to the throne at the age of 18, King Mswati III is the last absolute monarch in Africa.
He boasts a personal fortune of £82m and also enjoys a reputation as a successful entrepreneur and businessman
