Why did Britain not transfer Swaziland to the Union of South Africa?

Although the South Africa Act of 1909 provided for the potential transfer of Swaziland (along with Basutoland and Bechuanaland) to the Union of South Africa, Britain ultimately declined to do so for several key reasons.12

Initially, strong opposition from African populations and humanitarian groups, combined with Britain’s desire to maintain a strategic foothold in the region, prevented the incorporation of these territories. While both Britain and South Africa long assumed that an eventual transfer would occur, the imperial power resisted repeated requests from the Union over the decades.312

This resistance became firmly solidified following the 1948 South African election, which brought the apartheid regime to power. Furthermore, starting in 1945, Britain began actively addressing socioeconomic issues within Swaziland, which had previously been neglected as a colonial backwater. By the mid-1950s, the prospect of transfer was effectively abandoned, and Swaziland eventually moved toward full independence in 1968.12