Monarch and members of royal families in Africa

Daniel Lainé's search for the last surviving monarchs of Africa's grandest kingdoms took him all across Africa. He went from Nigeria to Ghana, Zambia to Cameroon — and from the Ivory Coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His resulting photographic tribute to Africa's kings, "Rois d'Afrique," took over three years of investigation, diplomacy — and just plain haranguing to complete.

Although there are hundreds of kings in Africa, Daniel Lainé's book features the kings whose dynasties have had the most impact on African history.

About Daniel Lainé

Daniel Lainé was born on April 29, 1949, in Auxerre, France. He worked as a freelance photographer for Libération, Partir and Grands Reportages before joining the staff of Gamma magazine in 1980.