WATCH: Memorial service for Zulu regent queen Mantfombi

The memorial service for AmaZulu regent queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu takes place on Friday morning at KwaKhangelamankengane Palace in Nongoma, northern KwaZulu-Natal.

UPDATE: WATCH: Prince disrupts prayer service at Zulu queen’s funeral

This follows the queen’s private burial at dawn on Thursday.

Mantfombi passed away last week at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg at the age of 65.

Her body was transported from Johannesburg to Nongoma on Wednesday in preparation for her burial.

President Cyril Ramaphosa had declared a special provincial official funeral for the queen, but that was changed to a memorial service due to her cultural burial on Thursday.

The queen was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church which will preside over the memorial service starting at 10am.

Mantfombi was appointed regent of the Zulu nation in March following the death of her husband king Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.

The queen’s sudden death shocked many and comes amid a legal battle by the first wife of the late king, queen Sibongile Dlamini, who argues that she is Zwelithini’s only legitimate wife because they were married under civil law, which prohibits polygamous marriages.

WATCH: Queen Mantfombi’s memorial service, courtesy of SABC News:

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