Letsie III

Letsie III (born Mohato Bereng Seeiso; 17 July 1963) is King of Lesotho. He succeeded his father, Bereng Seeiso Moshoeshoe II, who was forced into exile in 1990. His father was briefly restored in 1995 but died in a car crash in early 1996, and Letsie became king again. As a constitutional monarch, most of King Letsie's duties as monarch of Lesotho are ceremonial. In 2000, he declared HIV/AIDS in Lesotho to be a natural disaster, prompting immediate national and international response to the epidemic.

Biography
Letsie III was born on 17 July 1963 at the Scott Hospital in Morija, a town south of the capital Maseru. He was educated in the United Kingdom at Ampleforth College. From there, he went on to study at the National University of Lesotho, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law. He then went on to study at the University of Bristol (Diploma in English Legal Studies, 1986), Wolfson College, Cambridge (Development Studies, 1989), and Wye College (Agricultural Economics). He completed his studies in 1989, when he returned to Lesotho.

He was installed as the Principal Chief of Matsieng on 16 December 1989.

His coronation took place on 31 October 1997 at Setsoto Stadium. King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) attended the ceremony.

On 1 December 2016, in Rome, King Letsie III was appointed as the Food and Agriculture Organization's newest Special Ambassador for Nutrition by the Organization's Director-General, José Graziano da Silva.

Marriage and children
In 2000, King Letsie married Karabo Motšoeneng, with whom he has two daughters and one son:


 * Princess Mary Senate Mohato Seeiso, born 7 October 2001 at Maseru Private Hospital in Maseru.
 * Princess 'Maseeiso Mohato Seeiso, born 20 November 2004 at Maseru Private Hospital in Maseru.
 * Prince Lerotholi David Mohato Bereng Seeiso, born 18 April 2007 at Maseru Private Hospital in Maseru.

Religion
King Letsie III is the only Catholic sovereign of non-European lineage anywhere in the world. He is a member of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George and has been credited with promoting the principles of his Catholic faith in Lesotho.

Patronages

 * Patron of the Prince Mohato Award (Khau ea Khosana Mohato).

National

 * 🇱🇸 Lesotho : Grand Master of the Most Dignified Order of Moshoeshoe.
 * 🇱🇸 Lesotho : Grand Master of the Most Courteous Order of Lesotho.
 * 🇱🇸 Lesotho : Grand Master of the Most Meritorious Order of Mohlomi.
 * 🇱🇸 Lesotho : Grand Master of the Most Loyal Order of Ramatseatsane.
 * 🇱🇸 Lesotho : Outstanding Service Medal.

Foreign

 * Two Sicilian Royal Family: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (8 October 2013).