by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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The eldest of the four children of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga and Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, King George Tupou V of Tonga was born on May 4, 1948, in Tongatapu, Tonga. George Tupou’s father became King of Tonga upon the death of his mother Queen Sālote Tupou III in 1965, and George Tupou was appointed Crown Prince of Tonga on May 4, 1966, his 18th birthday.

George Tupou had three younger siblings:

• Princess Royal Salote Mafileʻo Pilolevu Tuita (born 1951), married Siosaʻia Maʻulupekotofa, Lord Tuita of ʻUtungake, had four daughters
• Prince Fatafehi ʻAlaivahamamaʻo Tukuʻaho (1953 – 2004), married (1) Heimataura Seiloni, a commoner so he was stripped of his royal titles, his wife died in 1985 (2) Alaile’ula Poutasi Jungblut, had four children
• King Tupou VI (born 1959), married Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, daughter of Baron Vaea, a former Prime Minister of Tonga, had one daughter and two sons

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Studying in England in 1967

George Tupou attended King’s School, a primary school for boys in Auckland, New Zealand, and then King’s College, an independent secondary boarding and day school also is Auckland. He then attended The Leys School, a co-educational independent school in Cambridge, England before beginning his studies at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. When George Tupou graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England in 1968, his parents attended his passing out parade.

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King Taufa’Ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata’Aho ‘Ahome’E with their son Prince George Tupou at the prince’s passing-out parade from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, December 9, 1968

After he completed his education, Geoge Tupou returned to Tonga and began a career in public service. In 1979, his father appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, a position he held until 1998. George Tupou never married, however, he had an illegitimate daughter ʻIlima Lei Fifita Tohi, born in 1974.

On September 10, 2006, 88-year-old King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga died and his son George Tupou became the King of Tonga. King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV had been an absolute monarch and resisted ceding any power during his forty-one-year reign. After his death, rioters, unhappy with the lack of a path toward democracy, took to the streets and destroyed the center of the capital, Nuku’alofa. George Tupou’s coronation was postponed until mid-2008 to allow for the rebuilding of Nuku’alofa.

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Queen Elizabeth II greets King George Tupou V of Tonga during a private meeting at Buckingham Palace, December 18, 2007

King George Tupou V is known for introducing democracy to Tonga. During his accession to the throne and his coronation, George Tupou and his advisors put together a framework for sweeping political reforms. Three days before the coronation ceremony, King George Tupou V announced he was ceding most of his executive powers to a democratically elected parliament. The parliament would be responsible for much of the day-to-day running of the country and the king would remain the head of state and retain the right to veto laws, decree martial law, and dissolve parliament. In November 2010, the citizens of Tonga voted for their first democratically elected parliament, making Tonga a constitutional monarchy. On the eve of the election, King George Tupou V said that “in future, the sovereign shall act only on the advice of his prime minister.”

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The traditional Tongan ceremony held on July 30, 2008

After a traditional Tongan ceremony on July 30, 2008, a second, European-style coronation ceremony took place on August 1, 2008, in the Centennial Chapel in Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s capital, attended by 1,000 guests including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester representing Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, Prince and Princess Hitachi of Japan, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindom of Thailand, Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

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The Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce invested George Tupou V with the Tongan regalia – the ring, scepter, and sword – and placed the Tongan Crown on the monarch’s head. Interestingly, one of the Coronation Anthems, George Friedrich Handel composed for the coronation of King George II of Great Britain, the rousing Zadok the Priest which has been played at every British coronation ever since, was performed at King George Tupou V’s coronation by the Royal Maopa Choir in the Tongan language. The video below shows the performance and has some views of the king and the church.

• YouTube: HM King George V Coronation – Zadok the Priest – The Royal Maopa Choir

On March 18, 2012, King George Tupou V, aged 63, died at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong. He was succeeded by his brother King Tupou VI. King George Tupou V had undergone surgery in September 2011 to remove a kidney following the discovery of a tumor and it is believed his death was caused by cancer.

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The royal standard draped casket of King George Tupou V is carried from the Royal Palace to Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds

On March 27, 2012, the state funeral and burial were held at Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga. Guests at the funeral included the Duke of Gloucester representing Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Prince and Princess Hitachi of Japan representing Emperor Akihito, President of Fiji Epeli Nailatikau, Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, and the Governor-General of New Zealand, Jerry Mateparae.

• YouTube: Tonga holds funeral of King George Tupou V

Works Cited

• Bangkok Post. 2012. Tongans Bid Farewell To Their Visionary Late King. [online] https://www.bangkokpost.com. Available at: <https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/286191/elaborate-funeral-bids-farewell-to-late-tongan-king> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• BBC News. 2012. Tonga’s King Tupou V Dies At 63. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17420114> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Tupou V. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tupou_V> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Tupou V. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tupou_V> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• Nytimes.com. 2012. King George Tupou V, Political Reformer Of Tonga, Dies At 63. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/world/asia/king-george-tupou-v-leader-of-tonga-dies-at-63.html?ref=oembed> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• The Guardian. 2012. King George Tupou V Of Tonga Obituary. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/26/king-george-tupou-v-of-tonga> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• The Independent. 2012. King George Tupou V: Reformer Who Brought Democracy To Tonga. [online] Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/king-george-tupou-v-reformer-who-brought-democracy-to-tonga-7582576.html> [Accessed 8 September 2020].

by Susan Flantzer

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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Famed for her stature (6 feet 3 inches, 270 pounds) and her appearance at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga, the first Queen Regnant of the Kingdom of Tonga and its longest-reigning monarch, was born on March 13, 1900, at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, the capital of Tonga. She was the only child of King George Tupou II of Tonga and his first wife Lavinia Veiongo. Sālote’s mother died from tuberculosis at the age of 23 on April 24, 1902.

Sālote had two half-sisters from her father’s second marriage to ‘Anaseini Takipō Afuha’amango:

• Princess ʻOnelua (born and died 1911), died from convulsions at five months
• Princess Fusipala (1912 – 1933), unmarried

As a child, Sālote was not popular in Tonga. Her unpopularity stemmed from her parents’ marriage. King George Tupou II was expected to marry Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu. However, the king wanted to marry Lavinia Veiongo who was not from the upper class and so he asked the Council of Chiefs to choose between the two women. When the majority of chiefs chose Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu, the king threatened to remain a bachelor unless he was allowed to marry Lavinia. The chiefs allowed the marriage to Lavinia to take place. However, the relationship between King George Tupou II and the rest of the country remained strained because of the rejection of Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu. Supporters of both women rioted in the streets of the capital of Nukuʻalofa, attacking each other with axes, clubs, and broken bottles. During her childhood, it was unsafe for Sālote to go outside the palace grounds.

In December 1909, Sālote was sent to Auckland, New Zealand, to start five years of education at the Diocesan High School for Girls, returning to Tonga every Christmas holiday. The month before Sālote left for New Zealand, her father married for a second time to ʻAnaseini Takipō Afuha’amango, a half-sister of the rejected Princess ʻOfakivava’u. The chiefs were jubilant and hoped for a son to displace Sālote from her place in the line of succession.

After King George Tupou II’s second wife gave birth to a surviving daughter Princess Fusipala in 1912, a rival court centered around Princess Fusipala’s claim to the throne was set up by her maternal relatives against her half-sister Sālote, reviving the old rivalries between the family of Sālote’s mother Lavinia Veiongo and the family of Fusipala’s mother. After December 1914, the king ordered Sālote to stay home in Tonga as hopes for a male heir had diminished so that she could begin a course of instruction in Tongan history and customs in preparation for her future role as Queen of Tonga.

In 1916, King George Tupou II selected Viliami Tungī Mailefihi (known as Tungī), a Tongan high chieftain, as Sālote ’s husband. He was the son of Siaosi Tukuʻaho who had served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1890 to 1893. On September 19, 1916, 16-year-old Sālote married 28-year-old Tungī in a Christian wedding ceremony. The traditional Tongan wedding ceremony, known as the Tu’uvala, was celebrated on September 21, 1916.

Sālote and Tungī had three sons:

• King Tāufa‘āhau Tupou IV (1918 – 2006), married Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, had three sons and one daughter
• Prince Uiliami Tuku‘aho (1920 – 1936), died as a teenager
• Prince Sione Ngū Manumataongo (1922 – 1999), married Melenaite Tupoumoheofo Veikune, had four daughters and two sons

On April 5, 1918, King George Tupou II died at the age of 43 and his 18-year-old daughter Sālote became Queen of Tonga. Her coronation was held on October 11, 1918, in the Royal Chapel on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga.  In November 1918, after the death of ‘Anaseini Takipō Afuha’amango, King George Tupou II’s second wife, during the influenza pandemic, Sālote assumed the guardianship of her six-year-old half-sister Princess Fusipala. Princess Fusipala died in 1933 at the age of 20 from tubercular peritonitis, a type of tuberculosis located ina part of the body other than the lungs.

In the early years of her reign, Sālote was faced with political difficulties. First, there was an unsuccessful republican movement that threatened to unseat the young queen. Then there was a schism between the two branches of the Methodist Church that resulted in the formation of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, the largest Christian denomination in Tonga, often mistaken to be its state church. Sālote overcame these difficulties with the support of her husband Prince Tungī. During her reign, Sālote sought to improve the quality of life of the people of Tonga by the expansion of women’s rights and the construction of roads and health facilities. Prince Tungī served as his wife’s Prime Minister from 1923 until he died in 1941. His own experience helped him facilitate Sālote ’s role as Queen of Tonga. Tungī’s death in 1941 during World War II was a devastating blow to Queen Sālote.

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Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga and Sultan Ibrahim IV of Kelantan riding a horse-drawn carriage during the coronation procession of Queen Elizabeth II

In 1953, Queen Sālote brought international attention to Tonga when she attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. During the coronation procession, it began to rain and coverings were placed on the carriages in the procession. Tongan custom dictates that one should not imitate the actions of the person one is honoring, and so Queen Sālote, dressed in traditional Tongan dress, a cocoanut fiber skirt and a satin rose-colored mantle, refused a covering for her carriage and rode through the rain in an open carriage with Sultan Ibrahim IV of Kelantan, endearing herself to crowds along the procession route. In December 1953, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip visited Queen Sālote in Tonga during their world tour of Commonwealth nations. Since then, the British royal family has remained close to the Tongan royal family.

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Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by Queen Sālote walks over a carpet of tapa cloth to the feast house as selected women seated on the ground form a guard of honor

On November 4, 1965, Queen Sālote flew to Auckland, New Zealand for treatment of diabetes and cancer. She was admitted to the hospital on December 12, 1965, with pleurisy and her condition steadily worsened. Queen Sālote of Tonga died on December 16, 1965, at the age of 65. Her funeral was held on December 23, 1965, and over 50,000 Tongans dressed in black mourning attended the impressive funeral (see highlights below). Queen Sālote was buried at Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds in Nukuʻalofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga.

• YouTube: The funeral ceremony in 1965 of Queen Sālote of Tonga

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Tupou II. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tupou_II> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lavinia Veiongo. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavinia_Veiongo> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sālote Tupou III. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C4%81lote_Tupou_III> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Viliami Tungī Mailefihi. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viliami_Tung%C4%AB_Mailefihi> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
• Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL). 2018. From The Archives: Queen Salote Of Tonga. [online] Available at: <https://www.rosl.org.uk/rosl_news/517-from-the-archives-queen-Salote -of-tonga> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
• Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1965. Salote, Queen Of Tonga, Is Dead At 65. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/16/95920444.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
• Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1965. TONGANS PAY SALOTE THEIR LAST TRIBUTE. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/24/96726736.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 7 September 2020].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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Siaosi (George) Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho, known as Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala of Tonga, was born September 17, 1985, in Nukuʻalofa, capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. He is the second of the three children and the elder of the two sons of King Tupou VI of Tonga and Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho.

Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala has an elder sister and a younger brother:

• Angelika Lātūfuipeka Halaevalu Mataʻaho Napua-o-kalani Tukuʻaho, known as Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho (born 1983)
• Viliami ‘Unaki-‘o-‘Tonga Lalaka moe ‘Eiki Tuku’aho, known as Prince Ata (born 1988)

Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala was educated at Tupou College, a Methodist boys’ secondary school in Toloa, Tonga. He attended the Australian Defence College and the Australian National University, studying Military and Defense Studies, graduating with a Master of Military and Defence Studies in 2018 and a Master of Diplomacy in 2021.

On March 18, 2012, Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala’s father became King of Tonga upon the death of his unmarried brother King George Tupou V. Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala became Crown Prince of Tonga, and his official investiture as Crown Prince took place at the Liukava Royal Residence on March 30, 2012.

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Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala and Sinaitakala Tukuʻaho on their wedding day

On July 12, 2012, after the one-hundred-day mourning period marking the death of King George Tupou V, Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala married his double second cousin Sinaitakala Fakafauna at the Centenary Church in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga. Sinaitakala Tukuʻaho is the daughter of Kinikinilau Tūtoatasi, 7th Lord Fakafānua and Princess Sinaitakala ‘Ofeina-‘e-he-Langi Fakafānua. Through her mother, she is a member of the Tongan royal family and, in her own right, in the line of succession to the throne of Tonga. Both Sinaitakala’s parents are first cousins of King Tupou VI. It is the tradition in Tonga that all royal marriages are arranged and that members of the royal family may only marry members of the Tongan nobility to maintain the royal bloodline.

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Sinaitakala escorted by her brother enters the Centenary Church in Nuku’alofa to marry Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala

However, the marriage caused much controversy over the practice of marrying closely related cousins and was openly criticized by members of Tongan political and royal circles. The Crown Prince’s parents were also second cousins, but despite this, King Tupou VI opposed the marriage and made his disapproval known to members of the royal family. His wife Queen Nanasipau’u had arranged the marriage. Two prominent members of the Tongan royal family, Queen Mother Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe and Princess Royal Pilolevu, King Tupou VI’s mother and sister, refused to attend the wedding ceremony.

Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala and Sinaitakala Tukuʻaho have four children:

• Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo (born 2013)
• Princess Halaevalu Mataʻaho (born July 2014)
• Princess Nanasipauʻu Eliana (born 2018)
• Princess Salote Mafileʻo Pilolevu (born 2021)

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Tupoutoʻa ʻulukalala. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupouto%CA%BBa_%CA%BBUlukalala> [Accessed 10 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sinaitakala Fakafanua. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaitakala_Fakafanua> [Accessed 10 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Wedding Of Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻulukalala And Sinaitakala Fakafanua. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Crown_Prince_Tupouto%CA%BBa_%CA%BBUlukalala_and_Sinaitakala_Fakafanua> [Accessed 10 September 2020].
• Latu, Sydney, 2018. HRH Crown Prince Graduated From The Australian National University – TBC. [online] Tonga-broadcasting.net. Available at: <http://www.tonga-broadcasting.net/?p=13815> [Accessed 10 September 2020].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga was born on July 4, 1918, at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, the eldest of the three sons of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga and her husband Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi.

Tāufaʻāhau Tupou had two younger brothers:

• Prince Uiliami Tuku‘aho (1920 – 1936), died as a teenager
• Prince Sione Ngū Manumataongo (1922 – 1999), married Melenaite Tupoumoheofo Veikune, had four daughters and two sons

Tāufaʻāhau Tupou began his education at a school run by the Free Wesleyan Church in Tonga and continued at Tupou College, a Methodist boys’ secondary boarding school in Toloa, Tonga. While at Tupou College, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou began competing in the pole vault, and by the age of fourteen, he held the Tonga pole vault record, a record that stood for many years.

In 1932, at the age of 14, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou was sent to Newington College, an exclusive boys’ secondary school located in Stanmore, near Sydney, Australia. While at Newington College, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou was a member of the athletic (track) team and competed in the pole vault. After finishing his secondary education at Newington College, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou attended the University of Sydney in Australia from 1938-1942, receiving both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree.

Upon graduating from university, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou returned to Tonga and began a career in government. His mother Queen Sālote appointed him Minister of Education in 1943, Minister of Health in 1944, and in 1949, he was appointed Prime Minister of Tonga, a position he held until he became King of Tonga in 1965. Tāufaʻāhau Tupou was a lay preacher of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga until his death.

On June 10, 1946, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou married Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (1926 – 2017) and the couple had four children:

• King George Tupou V (1948 – 2012), unmarried
• Princess Royal Salote Mafileʻo Pilolevu Tuita (born 1951), married Siosaʻia Maʻulupekotofa, Lord Tuita of ʻUtungake, had four daughters
• Prince Fatafehi ʻAlaivahamamaʻo Tukuʻaho (1953 – 2004), married (1) Heimataura Seiloni, a commoner so he was stripped of his royal titles, his wife died in 1985 (2) Alaile’ula Poutasi Jungblut, had four children
• King Tupou VI (born 1959), married Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, daughter of Baron Vaea, a former Prime Minister of Tonga, had one daughter and two sons

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Coronation of Tongan King Taufa’auhau Tupou IV

Upon the death of his mother Queen Sālote Tupou III in 1965, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou became King of Tonga. Taufa’ahau Tupou IV was crowned King of Tonga in a Methodist ceremony on July 4, 1967, his 49th birthday, at the Royal Chapel on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga. Tongans from the outer islands had been arriving in the capital Nuku’alofa for a month. Dignitaries who attended included the Duke and Duchess of Kent representing Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.

In 1970, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou proclaimed Tonga’s full independence from the United Kingdom, which had held Tonga as a protectorate since 1900. For most of his reign, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou had the respect and loyalty of his subjects and other leaders in the South Pacific but toward the end of his reign, he faced increasing dissent. In 2005, thousands of people took to the streets to demand democracy and public ownership of key assets. Like his mother Queen Sālote, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou‘s stature was notable. He was 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 440 pounds. In the 1990s, he took part in a national fitness campaign, and by his 80th birthday, in 1998, he had lost 286 pounds.

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King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, age 84, relaxing in the Royal Palace, 2002

On September 10, 2006, 88-year-old King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga died at Mercy Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. His funeral, which blended Christian and ancient Polynesian burial rites, was held on September 19, 2006, in the Tongan capital, Nukuʻalofa. Thousands of Tongans attended the funeral along with many foreign dignitaries, including Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, Vanuatu President Kalkot Mataskelekele, American Samoan Governor Togiola Tulafono, Niue Premier Vivian Young, and the Duke of Gloucester representing his cousin of Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom. King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga was buried his mother Queen Sālote at Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds in Nukuʻalofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Baker, Simon, 2006. King’s Funeral Mixes Tongan, Western Traditions. [online] The Age. Available at: <https://www.theage.com.au/world/kings-funeral-mixes-tongan-western-traditions-20060920-ge364c.html> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• BBC News. 2006. Tongan King Tupou IV Dies At 88. [online] Available at: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5333318.stm> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C4%81ufa%CA%BB%C4%81hau_Tupou_IV> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• NYtimes.com. 2006. King Taufa’Ahau Tupou IV, Ruler Of Tonga, Dies At 88. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/world/asia/11tonga.html?ref=oembed> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• NZ Herald. 2006. King’s Funeral Brings Capital To Halt. [online] Available at: <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401988> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
• The Guardian. 2006. Obituary: King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Of Tonga. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/sep/20/guardianobituaries.rogercowe> [Accessed 8 September 2020].

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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King Tupou VI of Tonga was born on July 12, 1959, at the Royal Palace in Nuku’aolfa, Tonga. He is the youngest son of King Tupou IV and Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, and the younger brother of the late King George Tupou V. His given name at birth was ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho. In keeping with Tongan tradition, he was later given three chiefly titles – Lavaka, ‘Ulukalala and Ata – which would typically replace his given name. He was known by any combination of these titles until he became Crown Prince. At that point, he retained the Lavaka title but passed the other two to his sons. (To avoid confusion, he will be referred to as Lavaka).

Following his early schooling in Tonga, Lavaka attended The Leys School in Cambridge, England, graduating in 1977, and earned a degree in Development Studies from the University of East Anglia in 1980. A military career followed. Lavaka joined the Tongan Navy and served until 1998. During this time, he attended the US Naval War College, graduating in 1988, and earned his Master’s Degree in Defense Studies from the University of New South Wales (Australia) in 1997. After leaving the military, he attended Bond University in Australia, earning another Master’s Degree in International Relations in 1999.

Lavaka was also involved in the Tongan government, serving as Defense Minister and Foreign Minister for several years. In 2000, he was appointed Prime Minister, a position he would hold until 2006. In September 2006, his father King Tupou IV died and his elder brother took the throne as King George Tupou V. The new King was not married and had no legitimate children, so Lavaka was the heir-presumptive. Days later, he was formally granted the title of Crown Prince (Tupoutoʻa).

Lavaka married Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, his second cousin, at the Chapel Royal, at the Royal Palace, in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga on December 11, 1982. The couple has three children:

• Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho (born 1983)
• Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa Ulukalala (born 1985), married his double second cousin, Sinaitakala Fakafanua, had one son and two daughters
• Prince Ata (born 1988)

In 2008, Lavaka was appointed Tonga’s first High Commissioner to Australia and took up residence in Canberra. He would remain in this position until March 18, 2012. On that day, his elder brother King George Tupou V passed away and Lavaka ascended the Tongan throne as King Tupou VI.

King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u were crowned in a ceremony conducted at Centenary Church in Nuku’alofa. Tonga on July 4, 2015. The celebrations included many international guests, and an estimated 15,000 people lined the roads.

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