Eswatini is an absolute monarchy with constitutional provision and Swazi law and customs. The head of state is the king or ''Ngwenyama'' (lit. ''Lion''), currently King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne in 1986 after the death of his father King Sobhuza II in 1982 and a period of regency. According to the country's constitution, the Ngwenyama is a symbol of unity and the eternity of the Swazi nation.