The council traces its origins to the advisory structures established by earlier Swazi kings. Following the death of King
Mswati II in 1868, the Liqoqo exercised authority and selected
Sisile 'LaMgangeni' Khumalo as the Queen Mother. During King
Bhunu's era, the Liqoqo temporarily succeeded in prohibiting the sale of European liquor in Swaziland through prime minister
Tikuba Magongo. In the early 1960s, it opposed a
British proposed independence constitutional reforms in Eswatini, arguing that the introduction of elected legislative institutions undermined Swazi customary governance and royal authority. The 1968 Constitution of Swaziland (now
Eswatini) formally recognised Liqoqo in Article 144(1) as a council partly elected by the Swazi National Council, partly selected by the King and partly appointed according to custom, with both the King and the Queen Mother serving as members. The Liqoqo was eventually dissolved by King Mswati III in 1986, ==References==