Crown Prince of Tonga | |
---|---|
Style | His Royal Highness |
Residence | Royal Palace, Nukuʻalofa |
Appointer | Monarch |
Inaugural holder | Vuna Takitakimālohi |
Formation | December 4, 1845 |
Deputy | Taufaʻahau Manumataongo |
The Crown Prince of Tonga is the heir to the throne of Tonga.
The Article 32 of the Constitution of Tonga provides for male-preference primogeniture, meaning that the eldest son of the King automatically succeeds to the crown upon the monarch's death, and that the eldest daughter may succeed to the crown only if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. [1] By convention, the heir to the throne also bears the noble title of Tupoutoʻa; this has been the case since then-crown prince Tāufaʻāhau was conferred with the title in the late 1930s. [2]
The current Crown Prince of Tonga is Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala, who became heir apparent to the throne on 18 March 2012 upon the accession of his father, Tupou VI, as King. [3]
The long reign of King George Tupou I (r. 1845–1893), the first constitutional monarch of Tonga, saw six different heirs apparent to the Tongan throne. The only legitimate son of the King, Vuna Takitakimālohi, died unmarried in January 1862, leaving the King without an heir. [4] The succession would remain vacant for thirteen years until the promulgation of the Constitution of Tonga in 1875, which legitimized Vuna's half-brother Tēvita ʻUnga and named him Crown Prince. [5] By 1889, the King would outlive ʻUnga and all three of his grandchildren – ʻUelingatoni Ngū, Nalesoni Laifone and ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku. That left his great-grandson Tāufaʻāhau, Fusipala's son, as the next Crown Prince, who would succeed his great-grandfather in 1893 as George Tupou II. [6] [7] [8]
Portrait | Name | Relation to monarch | Birth | Became Crown Prince | Ceased to be Crown Prince | Death | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vuna Takitakimālohi | Sole legitimate son | c. 1844 | 4 December 1845 | January 1862 deceased | George Tupou I | ||
Tēvita ʻUnga | Son | c. 1824 | 4 November 1875 | 18 December 1879 deceased | |||
ʻUelingatoni Ngū | Grandson | 3 August 1854 | 18 December 1879 | 11 March 1885 deceased | |||
Nalesoni Laifone | Grandson | c. 1859 | 11 March 1885 | 6 June 1889 deceased | |||
ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku | Granddaughter | 18 May 1850 | 6 June 1889 | September 1889 deceased | |||
Tāufaʻāhau | Double great-grandson | 18 June 1874 | September 1889 | 18 February 1893 acceded to throne as George Tupou II | 5 April 1918 | ||
Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu | Eldest daughter | 13 March 1900 | 5 April 1918 acceded to throne as Sālote Tupou III | 16 December 1965 | George Tupou II | ||
Tupoutoʻa Tungī | Eldest son | 4 July 1918 | 16 December 1965 acceded to throne as Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | 10 September 2006 | Sālote Tupou III | ||
Tupoutoʻa | Eldest son | 4 May 1948 | 16 December 1965 | 10 September 2006 acceded to throne as George Tupou V | 18 March 2012 | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | |
Tupoutoʻa Lavaka | Younger brother | 12 July 1959 | 27 September 2006 | 18 March 2012 acceded to throne as Tupou VI | Living | George Tupou V | |
Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala | Eldest son | 17 September 1985 | 18 March 2012 | Incumbent | Living | Tupou VI |
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV was King of Tonga from 1965 until his death in 2006. He was the tallest and heaviest Tongan monarch, weighing 209.5 kg (462 lb) and measuring 196 cm.
Tupou VI is King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V.
Sālote Tupou III was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, the longest of any Tongan monarch. She was well known for her height, standing 6 ft 3 in tall in her prime.
George Tupou II was the King of Tonga from 18 February 1893 until his death. He was officially crowned at Nukuʻalofa, on 17 March 1893. He was also the 20th Tuʻi Kanokupolu.
George Tupou I, originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi, the Tongan equivalent of George, after King George III of the United Kingdom, when he was baptized in 1831. His nickname was Lopa-ukamea, meaning iron cable.
George Tupou V was King of Tonga from 2006 to his death in 2012. He was the eldest son of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV.
Fīnau ʻUlukālala was a dynasty of six important hereditary chiefs from Vavaʻu, currently in the kingdom of Tonga. The dynasty began sometime in the 18th century and died out in 1960. The chief's original estate was Tuʻanuku, and his nickname and that of the village is Tavakefaiʻana.
The order of succession to the throne of Tonga is laid down in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Only legitimate descendants through legitimate line of King George Tupou I's son and grandson, Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga and Prince ʻUelingatoni Ngū, are entitled to succeed. A person loses their right of succession and deprives their descendants of their right of succession if he or she marries without the monarch's permission.
The Tuʻipelehake is one of the highest ranking chiefly titles in Tonga. In the absence of the ancient Tuʻi Faleua title, the Tuʻipelehake title is a high title due to, Tuʻi Kanokupolu. There have been several holders of the title mainly from the ruling royal family, from princes to prime ministers. It is Tongan custom to refer to the holder by his customary title, only adding his given name if confusion may arise. For example, Tuʻi Pelehake (ʻUluvalu).
ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku was the mother of King George Tupou II of Tonga.
Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho is Queen of Tonga as the wife of King Tupou VI.
Siaosi (George) Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho is the crown prince of Tonga. Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala became heir apparent to the throne in March 2012 upon the accession of his father, Tupou VI, as King of Tonga.
Tēvita ʻUnga was the first Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Tonga.
Siaosi Vuna Takitakimālohi was a Prince of Tonga, the only legitimate son and heir to King George Tupou I.
Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho is a Tongan royal, second in the line of succession to the Tongan throne as the eldest son and child of Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. Taufa'ahau is the eldest grandson of the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI.
Nalesoni Laifone was the third Crown Prince of Tonga from 1885 to 1889. He died before succeeding to the throne.
ʻUiliamu ʻUelingatoni Ngū Tupoumālohi was the second Crown Prince of Tonga from 1879 to 1885. He is also commonly referred by his Anglicized name as "Wellington Ngu".
Sālote Lupepauʻu was Queen of Tonga from 1845 to 1889 as the wife of George Tupou I. She was the namesake of the Queen Salote College.
ʻAnaseini Takipō Afuhaʻamango was Queen of Tonga from 1909 to 1918 as the second wife of George Tupou II. Her name was also often rendered as Ana Seini Takipo.
ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku, known as Fusipala, was a Princess of Tonga and daughter of King George Tupou II and Queen ʻAnaseini Takipō.