‘Son of Victoria! The Blessings of [Nomsa] Are upon You and Your Royal Mother’: The Petition of Xhosa Queen Nomsa to Prince Alfred during His 1860 Tour of the Eastern Cape Frontier

In 1860 Queen Nomsa appealed to Prince Alfred, son of Queen Victoria, during his tour of South Africa, to seek permission to return and permanently settle at St. Mark’s Mission. Though Nomsa, like the young prince, was of royal extraction, she was not seeking parity with Prince Alfred. Rather, her words invoked empathy and supplication, calling on the prince for protection and intervention. This article reinserts Queen Nomsa into the broader narrative of the Eastern Cape frontier by situating her petition within the tradition of nineteenth-century petitions submitted by Xhosa royal women to the colonial authorities. The petition is a tangible expression of royal women’s diplomacy, an enduring element of Xhosa custom and politics. Queen Nomsa’s words also reveal a clear consciousness of colonial domination and the erosion of Xhosa sovereignty. Her petition reflects personal supplication and the complex socio-political dynamics of the royal tour. These dynamics, shaped by multiple personalities with competing agendas, created the conditions for her appeal and, ultimately, determined its success.