Tupou VI
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Tupou VI | |||||
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King of Tonga | |||||
Reign | 18 March 2012 – present | ||||
Coronation | 4 July 2015[1] | ||||
Predecessor | George Tupou V | ||||
Heir apparent | Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala | ||||
Prime Ministers | |||||
Prime Minister of Tonga | |||||
Term | 3 January 2000 – 11 February 2006 | ||||
Predecessor | Baron Vaea | ||||
Successor | Feleti Sevele | ||||
Monarch | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | ||||
Born | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga | 12 July 1959||||
Spouse | Nanasipauʻu Vaea | ||||
Issue | Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala Prince Ata | ||||
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House | House of Tupou | ||||
Father | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | ||||
Mother | Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe | ||||
Religion | Methodism |
Tupou VI (full name: ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho Tupou; born 12 July 1959) is the King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Tongan throne, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children.[2] He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra[3][4] until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regnal name Tupou VI.[5]
Life
He was born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, the third son and youngest child of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. He was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge, from 1973–77. He then attended the University of East Anglia, where he studied Development Studies, from 1977 to 1980.[6] He started his career in the military, joining the naval arm of the Tonga Defence Services in 1982 and becoming a Lieutenant-Commander in 1987. He graduated from the US Naval War College as part of Class 33 in 1988. From 1990 to 1995 he commanded the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville. He graduated with a masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales in 1997 and with a MA in International Relations from Bond University in 1999.
In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as the defence minister and the foreign minister at the same time, from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Tupoutoʻa, at that time still the crown prince, later to become King Siaosi Tupou V (see below). Soon he was appointed as Prime Minister on 3 January 2000, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006, for which the reason has never become clear, but was probably due to the unrest in the country since mid-2005, a series of pro-democracy protests calling for a lesser role for the royal family in government. His appointed successor, Feleti Sevele, was Tonga's first prime minister who was not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the aristocracy made up of 33 noble families. In 2008 ʻAhoʻeitu was appointed Tonga's first High Commissioner to Australia, a post he held until his succession to the Tongan throne in 2012.[7] In 2013 he was appointed as Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific.[8]
Marriage and Family
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Tonga_princes.jpg/220px-Tonga_princes.jpg)
ʻAhoʻeitu is married to a daughter of the high chief Vaea, Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho (his second cousin) and the couple have three children:
- HRH Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho - ʻAngelika Lātūfuipeka Halaʻevalu Mataʻaho Napuaʻokalani Tukuʻaho (17 November 1983)
She followed her father's steps to be the current High Commissioner to Australia since August 2012. - HRH Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala - Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho (17 September 1985, Nukuʻalofa). He married on 12 July 2012 the Hon. Sinaitakala Fakafanua, daughter of late High Chief Kinikinilau Fakafanua and HRH Princess Ofeina, Lady Fakafanua, both King Tupou VI's first cousins.[9] They have two children:
- HRH Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo - Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (born 10 May 2013, Auckland).
- HRH Princess Halaevalu Mata'aho (born 12 July 2014, Auckland).
- HRH Prince Ata - Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho (Nukuʻalofa, 27 April 1988).
Name and titles
Styles of King Tupou VI of Tonga | |
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Reference style | His Majesty ko ʻene ʻafio |
Spoken style | Your Majesty ko hoʻo ʻafio |
Alternative style | Sir |
It is customary in Tongan culture that princes get a traditional chiefly title, by which they then are commonly known (and no longer by their baptised name). As such for many years, until his confirmation as heir presumptive, ʻAhoʻeitu was known by either one or all three of the titles which were bestowed on him over the time: Lavaka from Pea, ʻAta from Kolovai and ʻAtatā, and ʻUlukālala from Vavaʻu. These titles may be used in any order, (the one belonging to the area from which the speaker is coming usually first). Nevertheless, the sequences Lavaka Ata ʻUlukālala and ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata were most common.
Since his confirmation as heir presumptive, he got the traditional title of Tupoutoʻa, reserved for crown princes, which his older brother (the second) had to give up because he married a commoner, while two of his previous titles went to his sons. As such he was until his accession to the throne known as Tupoutoʻa Lavaka. His elder son, Siaosi, (George) is to be addressed by the prestigious title of ʻUlukālala, while his second son, Viliami, (William) was bestowed with ʻAta.
Coronation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Kingtupou.jpg/220px-Kingtupou.jpg)
King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u were crowned in a ceremony conducted at Centenary Church in Nuku'alofa on 4 July 2015 by Reverend D'Arcy Wood, a retired Uniting Church in Australia minister who was born in Tonga. He was assisted by Reverend Dr ‘Ahio and Reverend Dr Tevita Havea, the president and the secretary general of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.[10] The celebrations included many international invited guests, and an estimated 15,000 people, mostly expatriate Tongans, flew in to join the celebrations.
During the ceremony, Tupou VI was anointed with holy oil, adorned with a ring, and presented with a sceptre. The crown was then placed on his head by Wood, who performed the anointing and crowning as a matter of circumventing the taboo on native Tongans touching the King's head. The celebrations ran for a total of eleven days, beginning a week before the ceremony.[11]
Honours
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Royal_Monogram_of_King_Tupou_VI_of_Tonga.svg/100px-Royal_Monogram_of_King_Tupou_VI_of_Tonga.svg.png)
See also List of honours of the Tongan Royal Family by country
National Orders
He is Grand Master of the Royal Orders of Tonga :
The Royal Order of Pouono
The Royal Order of King George Tupou I
The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III - Knight Grand Cross (31.7.2008) [12]
The Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga
The Royal Order of the Phoenix
The Royal Military Order of St. George
The Most Devoted Royal Household Order of Tonga - Knight Grand Cross (1.8.2011) [12]
Decorations
: King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Coronation Silver Jubilee Medal (4.7.1992) [12]
: King George Tupou V Coronation Medal (31.7.2008) [12]
: Tonga Defence Services General Service (Bougainville) Medal (4.7.1995) [12]
: Tonga Defence Services Long Service and Good Conduct Medal [12]
Ancestry
See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...
Family of Tupou VI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tongan royal family |
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Extended family |
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See also
References
- ^ Tonga Broadcasting
- ^ Tupouto'a Lavaka, Tonga's new Crown Prince Matangi Tonga, 27 September 2006
- ^ "Crown Prince Tonga's first High Commissioner to Australia", Matangi Tonga, 15 August 2008
- ^ read&id=41482 "Tonga’s Crown Prince made High Commissioner in Canberra", Radio New Zealand International, 15 August 2008
- ^ "Announcement of the Passing of His Late Majesty & Proclamation of the New King". Tonga Government Portal. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "One in seven countries has leader who studied in UK". BBC News. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ "HRH The Crown Prince Tupouto'a Lavaka: Tonga's First High Commissioner to Australia". Tonga Government Portal. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- ^ Mic
- ^ Tongan Royal Heir Engaged to Marry
- ^ Fonua, Pesi; Folau, Linny (4 July 2015). "HM King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau'u crowned at Centenary Church". Matangi Tonga. Vava'u Press. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ Fox, Liam (4 July 2015). "Tonga crowns King Tupou VI in lavish public coronation, parties". Nuku'alofa: ABC News. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Royal Ark, Tongan Genealogy details
- ^ Royal Ark
External links
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- 1959 births
- Alumni of the University of East Anglia
- Bond University alumni
- Government ministers of Tonga
- High Commissioners of Tonga to Australia
- Living people
- People educated at The Leys School
- Prime Ministers of Tonga
- Tongan monarchs
- University of New South Wales alumni
- Grand Masters of the Order of King George Tupou I
- Grand Masters of the Order of Queen Salote Tupou III
- Grand Masters of the Order of the Crown of Tonga
- Grand Masters of the Royal Military Order of St George
- Grand Masters of the Royal Order of Pouono
- Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Pouono
- Grand Masters of the Royal Order of the Phoenix (Tonga)
- People from Tongatapu