Mourners pay tribute to South Africa's late Zulu regent queen

Mourners in traditional leopardskin regalia on Wednesday gathered outside a Johannesburg morgue to accompany the body of the late Zulu regent queen on the eve of her funeral.

The 65-year-old queen, Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, died on April 30, weeks after she was named interim successor to her late husband, King Goodwill Zwelithini, the longest-serving leader of South Africa's largest ethnic group.

A day ahead of her funeral, hundreds of mourners paraded through the inner-city suburb of Hillbrow, singing and dancing as they made their way to the mortuary under a clear autumn sky.

Men known as "amaButho" or Zulu regiments, donned traditional leopard skin ponchos and headbands, wielding clubs and shields made of animal hide.

Young women wore colourful miniskirts and beads, while their elderly married counterparts followed in head wraps and patterned shawls.