I am not sure if this has already been discussed, but this week we finally saw 'A United Kingdom' the film based on the life of the first president of Botswana Seretse Kharma and his English wife Ruth Williams.
I did not really know anything about this story beforehand, but my mother remembers the events surrounding Seretse and Ruth's marriage very clearly (especially as Ruth was born in Eltham, a part of south London where my mother grew up). Their union caused a major political incident in both countries, and huge pressure was brought to bear on both of them not to go ahead with the wedding - but go ahead they did, and they lived happily together in Botswana until their deaths.
The film is wonderful, both in its depiction of Seretse and Ruth's relationship and in its revelation of the politics and prejudices of the time. Ruth Williams was just an office worker from London, yet she made the huge transition to living in a fledgling - and very poor - African country, even having her first child there with the assistance of local midwives rather than travelling to S Africa to be cared for by white doctors, as recommended by the ghastly diplomatic wives of the colonial service). Seretse was from a royal tribe that had previously sought the protection of the UK to avoid being annexed by South Africa - but he made a stand against the British government and led his country to independence in the face of South Africa's concurrent introduction of apartheid. Both Seretse and Ruth (eventually - at first the people were appalled at their future king bringing a white woman home) were adored by the Botswana people. It was especially interesting to learn so much about the birth of this country after reading and seeing the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is of course fiction but which (perhaps especially in the TV series) shows so much of Botswana's beautiful countryside and wildlife.
The acting in the film is outstanding - Rosamund Pike is brilliant as Ruth, a woman who knows her own mind and is prepared to do anything to stay with the man she loves, and David Oyelowo is fantastic as Seretse, a man with fierce loyalty to his people and a determination to take them into independence as an open, peaceful and unsegregated nation.
It's also both interesting and shocking (though why i should be shocked I do wonder) to see how badly the UK government behaved to get its own way; the double-dealing and lies were appalling, as were the snobbishness, greed (they wanted S Africa's - and later Botswana's - vast mineral resources, so did not want to upset S Africa) and self-importance of some of the politicians involved. Some of course were better and helped Seretse to win through - notably Tony Wedgewood Benn.
Highly recommended if you have the chance to see it.
Rosemary