When Seretse Khama married Ruth Williams in 1948, the British government sent him into exile. The heir to the Bamangwato chieftaincy had married a white London clerk, and apartheid South Africa objected.
A London dance
Seretse Khama was studying law in London when he met Ruth Williams, a clerk at Lloyd’s of London, at a dance. They married at a registry office in September 1948 after the church refused to marry them. His uncle and regent, Tshekedi Khama, opposed the match.
Exile
Under pressure from South Africa, Britain barred Seretse from the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1950. The couple lived in England until 1956, when he renounced his claim to the chieftaincy and they returned to Serowe.
Botswana’s first family
Seretse led Botswana to independence in 1966 as its first president, with Ruth as Lady Khama. He died in 1980 and Ruth in 2002. Their son Ian Khama became president in 2008, and the story was told in the 2016 film A United Kingdom.
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