It is not clear who released the video.

The statement from the royal household noted that on the day of the video leak, the king and queen were receiving a group of politicians as part of their official duties.

Commitments like this demonstrate that the “difficult circumstances” captured in the video have been replaced by “reconciliation” and “reflection,” the statement added.

Considered the “lion of the nation,” the Zulu king is the custodian of ancient traditions that place marriage and polygamy at the center of royal success.

Its role within South Africa may be only ceremonial, but it remains hugely influential, with an annual government-funded budget of several million dollars.

The video has caused a sharp division on social media: some have accused the king of displaying abusive and undignified behavior, while others criticized the queen for airing private matters in public.

South African journalist Asanda Magaqa said that while she would never encourage anyone to film private moments, “watching that video, I understand why she felt compelled to film it.”

“No woman deserves to live like this,” she wrote on social media platform X.

The footage also showed the king saying that he became monarch through witchcraft. King Misuzulu’s coronation came after a year-long family dispute, in which some royals argued that he was not the rightful heir and that his father’s will had been forged.

Zulu society is deeply patriarchal and women are often expected to conform to traditional gender norms.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world.

Last year, South Africa classified gender-based violence (GBV) as a “national disaster.”

The king’s marriage to Queen Myeni was delayed for months last year due to a scandal involving his first wife, Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela.

Queen kaMayisela went to court in an attempt to stop the wedding, arguing that her husband would be committing the crime of “bigamy” without first “converting” his civil marriage to her into a traditional Zulu marriage.

But the judge dismissed her case, saying Queen kaMayisela had had a “change” of attitude as she had agreed that her husband could take other wives.

Additional reporting by Khanyisile Ngcobo in Johannesburg