His Excellency The HIgh Commissioner

HRH Prince Seeiso B. Seeiso was born in 1966, the second son of the-late King Moshoeshoe II and Queen ‘M'amohato Seeiso of Lesotho. His elder brother, is the present King and head of State of Lesotho. Seeiso Bereng Seeiso has acted as Regent on many occasions when Their Majesties had travelled abroad on official duty.

Since September 2005, Seeiso Bereng Seeiso has served as High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Lesotho in London with co-accreditation to Malta , Spain , Portugal and Cyprus . His overarching responsibility is to promote his country's interests in the United Kingdom, in particular by encouraging inward investment, for example by developing the nascent tourist industry and international trade. He is also much occupied with environmental concerns, especially water supply and the disastrous effects of global warming.

Lesotho is a small, beautiful, land-locked albeit poverty-stricken country. It is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa . It has a deeply spiritual people and culture. Although the land is ultimately vested in the King, and administered by the chiefs with the assistance of local councils, the country's philosophy is socially enlightened and very far from the feudalism suggested by its formal system of land tenure. Running deep within it is the concept which we would today call “the fair deal”. Seeiso Bereng Seeiso's father, though a King, was a man of socialist leanings and saw his role as that of a benevolent parent to the nation, the guardian of social services for his people. His guiding tenet was that a chief is only a chief because of his people; the chief would not exist unless he was part of the people.

His father's views account for the extraordinary wide international experience which Seeiso Bereng Seeiso has received. The King wanted his sons to be as intellectually well-rounded as they could possible be. Seeiso Bereng Seeiso's education began at home in Lesotho at Iketsetseng Private School, but soon brought him to the United Kingdom and two schools in Yorkshire - Gilling Castle and Ampleforth College . He returned to Lesotho in 1982 and obtained a BA in Law from the National University of Lesotho in 1986. He spent six months on a Kibbutz in Israel , because his father was attracted to the co-operative system; the notion of co-operative work has always been part of the social fabric of rural life in Lesotho and the King saw its formal manifestation in the Kibbutz system as having a potential practical application in his own country. There followed a year in China where Seeiso Bereng Seeiso was sent to study Political Science. He did not actually do so because of the riots in Tianaman Square , but he nevertheless learned Mandarin during this period. He went on to spend a year in Guyana , where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relation because of its left of centre leader and his views on the equitable distribution of wealth. The year 1996 saw Prince Seeiso's arrival at the University of Birmingham where he went on a Chevening Scholarship and obtained a Masters Degree in International Studies.

Lesotho is a young democracy and is one of only three remaining monarchies in sub-Sahara Africa . The notion of constitutional monarchy lies at its heart, though this relationship has not always proved an easy one. Seeiso Bereng Seeiso became a member of the National Constituent Assembly in 1991 when he was installed as Principal Chief of the tribal village of Matsieng . He was appointed a member of the Senate in 1992 by virtue of his position of Principal Chief.

A visionary and committed stalwart of egalitarian values, Seeiso Bereng Seeiso is firmly committed to equality of opportunity for all and favours root and branch reform of succession laws in Lesotho , which currently generally disfavour women. He has stimulated debate around the present Act of succession which provides for male children but not female children to inherit the throne. This law could well have impacted directly on Seeiso Bereng Seeiso himself until only recently, as the present King had two daughters but no sons. Prince Seeiso is on record as saying that he wished to see the law amended to insure that the King's daughter, rather than he himself, succeeded to the throne.

Given his wide international experience, his culture and background, it was perhaps inevitable that charitable work would be an important priority for Seeiso Bereng Seeiso. With his friend, Prince Harry, he founded in 2006 the charity “Sentebale” (Forget-me-Not), of which he is a very active Patron.

Lesotho ranks third among world countries most severely infected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. affected. With a national adult infection rate between 29% and 31%, the country's population has actually declined from 2 million to 1.8 million in recent times. Life expectancy has also dropped dramatically in the past decade – from 57 years of age to the low 30s today. They may be victims of this savage pandemic today, but children remain the future hope of Lesotho . The mothers of both Princes had worked hard to alleviate the suffering of Aids and HIV victims and the charity was set up in their memories.

Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso has also worked closely with the UN Development Programme on issues of democracy, good governance, and leadership. He has also worked closely with UNICEF on issues pertaining to children's welfare. He is in addition, the Patron of Linking Lives, Send-a-Cow and Khokanyana-Phiri charities based in England which seek to provide help to the less privileged people of Lesotho .

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The Consular
The Consular Department is located at the High Commission:

7 Chesham Place, Belgravia,
London SW1X 8HN

We are open from Monday to Friday - 09h00 to 12h30 and 14h00 to 15h30 for VISA and passport enquiries and general applications.

We are closed during the UK and Lesotho Public Holidays.