During his coronation on Saturday, the new king of South Africa's ethnic Zulu country, Misuzulu ka Zwelithini ridiculed anyone who challenged his claim to the throne.

Despite some members of the royal family questioning his claim to succeed, his late father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, the newly anointed king of the Zulu people, the biggest ethnic group in South Africa, was crowned.

Some members of the Zulu family favor two of his siblings as his father's heirs.

After undertaking a traditional ceremony known as ukungena esibayeni (entering the kraal) to commemorate the commencement of his rule as king, he addressed big crowds for the first time.

"I know that you are aware of the state of the royal family in recent times," ka Zwelithini stated.

"I request that whatever you hear in the media, and the comments being made by those disputing the throne, you should hear them but you should not listen to them."

He urged Zulu nation unity and praised South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for recognizing him as the legitimate heir to the kingdom.

Mr. Ramaphosa will present him with a certificate recognizing him as the new king at a later event this year.

The ceremony was a colorful exhibition of traditional Zulu culture with nearly a thousand individuals dressed in traditional Zulu regalia.

As they awaited the arrival of the new monarch, women dressed in traditional beaded necklaces, skirts, and headgear danced and chanted Zulu hymns and slogans.

Thousands of amabutho regiments brandished traditional shields, spears, and clubs as they sang their way into the Royal Palace to swear loyalty to their new commander.

Other men butchered approximately fifty cattle while women prepared and brewed traditional Sorghum beer.

Traditional leaders of ethnic communities from various African nations, like Zambia and Malawi, who trace their roots to the Zulu country, also attended the coronation.

KwaZulu-Natal is the province where the majority of South Africa's 12 million Zulu people reside.

In the early 1800s, under the leadership of King Shaka Zulu, they fought vehemently against British colonialism.

As the leader of the 12 million-strong Zulu nation that controls around 28,000 square kilometers of land in KwaZulu-Natal, he is perhaps South Africa's most prominent traditional leader.