A woman who grew up in Saskatoon will become royalty in Ghana when her husband becomes chief of a local tribe this week.

Dorrie Manu will become the "queen mother" of a tribe of around 6,000 people and her son will be a prince. Her husband Eric is becoming chief after his uncle, the last chief, died.

"I think at first, for both of us, we have had similar emotions. At first we were shocked and surprised like, 'Oh wow this has come up a lot sooner than we expected,'" Dorrie said from Langley, B.C., where the family currently lives.

"On the flipside, now it's sunk in a bit more. There's a feeling of anticipation and excitement of what this would involve. Definitely I would say it's a space of mystery, because we still feel like we are in a space of learning of what this looks like and what the expectation of the tribe would be."

You learn as you walk through the role, as you integrate into the role. - Dorrie Manu, soon to be royalty to Ghanaian tribe

​Dorrie and Eric met while she was visiting Ghana. She said when they got married she knew the possibility was there that Eric could become chief.

Eric is already in Ghana and will be officially sworn in this week.

"He is going to walk through the ceremony and then assume this role and understand what that means for himself as chief, for me as queen mother, as well for our son," Dorrie said.

She said they are still figuring out what the role requires before making any decisions to permanently move to the tribal region, although it's a very real consideration. She said there isn't a salary with the position, so finances will also be something they will look at.

The Manu family. (Submitted by Dorrie Manu )

The role for Eric means he will be a government intermediary for the tribe and will hold a judicial role in deciding local cases. They will both share a responsibility to develop and grow the tribe, something Dorrie has experience in. Dorrie and Eric started a non-governmental organization after they were married to improve the lives of youth in Ghana.

She still expects to face some challenges in the new role.

"As a Canadian this is very new to me," she said, adding that in the culture, you are expected to learn through experience.

"You learn as you walk through the role, as you integrate into the role."