As scores of bare-breasted virgins dance in front of the portly King Mswati III of Swaziland to celebrate his 40th birthday today, one guest could be forgiven for feeling rather hot under the collar.

The senior British envoy, Paul Boateng, a former Cabinet Minister and the current High Commissioner in neighbouring South Africa, has come under fire for attending the lavish ceremony in the impoverished and Aids-ridden country.

The party, which coincides with the kingdom's 40 years of independence from Britain, has cost at least £7million and triggered unprecedented protests against Africa's last absolute monarch and one of the world's most eccentric rulers.

Celebrations began with a sumptuous banquet last night at which Robert Mugabe was one of the guests.

Times Archive, 1896: A Swazi military rite

In the centre of the circle was the King with the witch doctor, indunas, Royal persons, and five or six white men

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“We condemn with the contempt it deserves that regional heads of state and former colonial powers, like Britain, have come to feast off a country which is bleeding,” Jan Sithole, of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions, which organised two days of “illegal” protests against the event this week, told The Times.

“London should be making a splash about misrule and letting the king know its displeasure rather than participating in this birthday splash.”

About 70 per cent of the country's population of 1.1 million live off less than 23p a day, making Swaziland one of Africa's poorest and least-developed nations.

A British diplomatic source said that Mr Boateng, who was due at last night's banquet, was merely representing Britain at an event to mark a former colony's independence. His presence did not signal support for the Government. “It is known we have concerns over economic governance which we have made public,” he said.

Britain closed its Embassy in Swaziland in 2006 as part of a Foreign Office cost-cutting drive. It has no bilateral aid programme currently with the tiny mountainous state, encircled by South Africa, but still provides about £1 million a year in aid through the United Nations and European Union assistance programmes.

The lifestyle of King Mswati, who was educated at the British public school of Sherbourne in Dorset, has outraged critics frequently. In addition to fleets of expensive cars, including a Chrysler Maybach 62 costing £250,000 and private helicopters, the king has built a string of sumptuous palaces to house 13 wives.

A few months ago the country ran out of anti-retroviral drugs for HIV patients and says that it has no money to buy more. An estimated 41 per cent of the country's population are HIV positive.

About 10,000 people turned up for two days of marches in the capital, Mbabane, this week to push for democratic reforms. Only political parties approved by the king may operate, and there has been an official state of emergency for 34 years.

The king, who has ruled since 1986, has also spent about £1.5 million on a new fleet of BMWs to ferry guests from the airport to guest houses. At such events, the king traditionally takes a new wife. Even his backers are hoping he resists the temptation this time. Last week the United Nations blamed polygamy and inter-generational sex for the country's astonishingly high rate of HIV infection.

Multiple wives

— A Malaysian villager who had a second wife was forced by a court in August 2007 to compensate his first wife and children with a buffalo and a pig

— The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes that multiple wives is a requirement for the highest form of salvation.

Sources: Times Archive, CNN, Fox News, Associated Press

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