{"id":414,"date":"2021-06-22T17:28:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T17:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/?page_id=414"},"modified":"2026-04-09T23:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:07:03","slug":"the-monarch","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/the-monarch\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitutional Monarchy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Constitutional Monarchy<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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HIS MAJESTY KING TUPOU VI OF TONGA<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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His Majesty was born \u2018Aho\u2018eitu \u02bbUnuaki\u02bbotonga Tuku\u02bbaho, on 12 July 1959 in Nuku\u2019alofa, \u00a0the third son and youngest of four children of Their late Majesties King Taufa\u2019ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata\u2019aho.<\/p>

\u2018Aho\u2019eitu \u2018Unuaki \u2018o Tonga Tuku\u2019aho received three chiefly titles as is customary in the Tongan tradition, He commonly used these titles Prince \u2018Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, until he became Crown Prince.<\/p>

Prince \u2018Ulukalala Lavaka Ata was educated in Great Britain at The Leys School, Cambridge and later attended the University of East Anglia in 1980 where he graduated with a degree in Development Studies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Upon returning to Tonga in 1982, the young prince joined the Navy at the Tonga Defence Services and gaining promotion to Lieutenant-Commander in 1987.<\/p>

He graduated from the US Naval War College in 1988 and from 1990 to 1995 he took command of the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and led peace keeping missions in Bougainville.<\/p>

In 1997, he graduated with a Masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales, Australia and in 1999 he earned a MA in International Relations from Bond University, Australia.<\/p>

Prince \u2018Ulukalala Lavaka Ata joined the Civil Service in 1998 occupying two portfolios, Minister for Defence and Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Prime Minister from January 2000 to February 2006. Later that year he received the title Crown Prince Tupouto\u2019a Lavaka when his elder brother ascended the Throne as King George Tupou V.<\/p>

In 2008, the Crown Prince was appointed Tonga’s first High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to Japan until his succession to the Throne in 2012 following the passing of King George Tupou V and immediately became King of Tonga and Head of State.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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HM King Tupou VI of Tonga
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His Majesty King Tupou VI was formally crowned monarch in July 2015 in a series of ancient private and public ceremonies and religious services attended by both regional and global leaders who travelled to Tonga for this special occasion.<\/p>

His Majesty married Nanasipau\u02bbu Vaea on 11 December 1982 who on his accession to the Throne became Her Majesty Queen Nanasipau\u02bbu Tuku\u02bbaho of Tonga.<\/p>

Their Majesties have three children, HRH Princess L\u0101t\u016bfuipeka Tuku\u02bbaho, born in 1983, HRH Crown Prince Tupouto\u02bba \u02bbUlukalala, born 1985 and HRH Prince Ata, born 1988.<\/p>

HRH Crown Prince Tupouto\u02bba \u02bbUlukalala married Sinaitakala Fakafanua in July 2012. Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have four children born in 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2021. Their first born son HRH Prince Taufa\u2019ahau Manumataongo is second in line to the Throne.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A THOUSAND YEAR OLD INSTITUTION IN TONGA<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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HM King George Tupou V
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Tonga has been a\u00a0monarchy for over 1000 years which has never succumbed to either colonial or foreign\u00a0domination.<\/p>

Since 1845, after the Constitution of Tonga formally established the role of Head of State and Sovereign, the first King of Tonga of the modern era was King George Tupou I who reigned from 1845 to 1893. He was succeeded by his great grandson King George Tupou II who reigned from 1893 to 1918. Following his passing, his daughter reigned as Queen Salote Tupou III from 1918 until 1965.<\/p>

In 1965 Queen Salote III was succeeded by her son, King Taufa\u2019ahau Tupou IV who reigned until 2006. He was succeeded by his son King George Tupou V who reigned until 2012 when he was succeeded on his death by his younger brother and the current King of Tonga, His Majesty King Tupou VI.<\/p>

Before the 1845 constitution the\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Ha\u02bbatakalaua\u00a0ruled in Tonga as a dynasty of nineteen\u00a0Tongan kings\u00a0which originated in the 15th century and assumed political power from the\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Tonga\u00a0line. In the 18th century, it merged power with the\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Kanokupolu\u00a0dynasty.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Previously the\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Tonga\u00a0– \u00a0a line of thirty nine\u00a0Tongan kings\u00a0–\u00a0ruled over a maritime Empire in Oceania\u00a0which had its\u00a0origins in 950 AD and reached its peak of regional power during between 1200\u20131500.<\/p>

The dynasty originated in the tenth century around 950 AD with the mythical\u00a0\u02bbAho\u02bbeitu\u00a0and\u00a0withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Ha\u02bbatakalaua. The title ended with the death of the last\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Tonga,\u00a0Sanualio Fatafehi Laufilitonga, in 1865, who bequeathed the ancient title and its\u00a0mana\u00a0to his nephew, Fatafehi Tu’i Pelehake, who was the\u00a0Tu’i Faleua, or Lord of the Second House (traditionally supposed to succeed to the office of the\u00a0Tu\u02bbi Tonga\u00a0should the original line of kings perish without a natural successor).<\/p>

Tu’i Pelehake surrendered the title and its privileges to his father-in-law, King\u00a0George Tupou I, who united its power and prestige with that of the\u00a0Tu’i Kanokupolu,\u00a0Tu’i Vava’u, and\u00a0Tu’i Ha’apai\u00a0titles to establish the modern-day institution of the\u00a0Tongan monarchy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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HM King George Tupou I
\n(reigned 1845 - 1893)<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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HM King George Tupou II
\n(reigned 1893 - 1918)<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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HM Queen S\u0101lote Tupou III
\n(reigned 1918 - 1965)<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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HM King George Tupou IV
\n(reigned 1965 - 2006)<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HIS MAJESTY KING TUPOU VI OF TONGA His Majesty was born \u2018Aho\u2018eitu \u02bbUnuaki\u02bbotonga Tuku\u02bbaho, on 12 July 1959 in Nuku\u2019alofa, \u00a0the third son and youngest of four children of Their late Majesties King Taufa\u2019ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata\u2019aho. \u2018Aho\u2019eitu \u2018Unuaki \u2018o Tonga Tuku\u2019aho received three chiefly titles as is customary in the Tongan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-414","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}