The first wife of South Africa’s Zulu King, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, has lost her legal attempt to stop him from marrying a third wife.

Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela went to court before what was supposed to be the wedding later this week. However, it’s still unclear if the wedding will take place as planned.

On Saturday, South African media reported a letter from the king, saying the wedding had been canceled “due to reasons beyond the control of the royal house.”

Polygamous marriages are allowed in South Africa, but they must be registered as traditional marriages.

This issue is just one of many controversies surrounding King Misuzulu since he became king more than two years ago. Though the king does not have political power and his role is mainly ceremonial, he is still very influential and receives a yearly government-funded budget worth millions of dollars.

Before becoming king, Misuzulu married Mayisela in 2021 through a civil marriage.

In court, Queen Mayisela argued that their civil marriage is still valid and that the king cannot marry someone else unless their marriage is legally dissolved or converted into a traditional one.

It’s unclear why the marriage wasn’t an issue when the king married his second wife, Queen Nozizwe Mulela-Zulu, in 2022. However, reports from South Africa’s Sunday World newspaper state that the couple had agreed to change their civil marriage into a traditional one. Legal experts offered them two choices: divorce and remarry or convert the marriage. They apparently chose the latter, but the king later decided against it for unknown reasons.

In court on Monday, Judge Bongani Mngadi rejected the queen’s request to stop the king’s marriage to Nomzamo Myeni. The judge ruled that since Queen Mayisela had already agreed that her husband could marry other women, she couldn’t stop the wedding.

Even though the king’s lawyer confirmed that the wedding would not happen, some reports say otherwise. TimesLIVE reported that the bride-to-be, Myeni, was unaware of the letter and believed the wedding would proceed. Another news site, IOL, reported that the king insisted he loved Myeni and would “marry her by force.”

Since his coronation in October 2022, King Misuzulu has faced controversy over some of his decisions. In December, he removed the board of the Ingonyama Trust, which manages large amounts of land in KwaZulu-Natal. The trust is supposed to support the community, but the king has no legal power to hire or fire its members.

He has also dismissed two close aides, including his prime minister, which raised questions about his leadership. Some people are even challenging his position as king in court.

King Misuzulu became king earlier than expected after his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, passed away from complications related to diabetes in March 2021. His father had ruled for almost 50 years.