Museum and Information Centre

The Royal Archives, Museum and Information Resource Centre is a registered non-governmental organization which was established in March 2008 by the Royal family and is administered on its behalf by professionals in various fields of academia. The Royal Archives, Museum and Information Resource centre is administered, on behalf of the Royal Family, by a ten member Board of Trustees, all of whom are volunteers, experts and professionals in fields related to anthropology, cultural, historical and library studies, archives and museum, and architecture.

The institution has already achieved a lot. rescuing of the archives, treatment, cataloguing, digitisation. with the official opening the archives will now be open to the public. The Royal Archives and Museum will work hand in hand with Matsieng Community in various developmental projects meant to empower residents of Matsieng and surrounding areas. These strategies are planned to empower the community whilst eradicating poverty. Youth empowerment is among key outreach programmes that the Royal Archives and Museum has planned for the future.

The monarch in Lesotho holds a special place in the history of Lesotho. Basotho emerged as a nation when Moshoeshoe I gathered together remnants of various clans and ethnic groups fleeing the ravages of the tribal wars or “lifaqane”, settling on the top of a small hill, Thaba-Bosiu. From here Moshoeshoe continued to amalgamate remnants of tribal groups eventually building up a small but steadily growing nation. During his reign, the young Basotho nation fought a series of wars with, among others, the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State, losing substantial amount of productive land in the process of post war settlement in which the British colonial Government played a central role. In 1870, Moshoeshoe I died to be succeeded by;

Paramount Chief Letsie I, 1870-1891
Paramount Chief Lerotholi, 1891-1905.
Paramount Chief Letsie II, 1905-1913..
Paramount Chief Griffith, 1913-1939
Paramount Chief Seeiso Griffith, 1939-1940.
Paramount Chieftainess ‘Mantåebo Seeiso, 1940-1960.
King Moshoeshoe II, 1960-1996.,
King Letsie III, 1996- now

Become Part of Royal Archives, Museum and Information Centre to Know Basotho History.