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George Tupou V (Tongan: Siaosi Tupou V, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou V; 4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012) was the reigning King of Tonga.

Biography

Tupou V was born on 4 May 1948. He was the eldest son of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (1918–2006) and Queen Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (b. 1926). He was appointed Crown Prince on 4 May 1966. In that role, he was better known by one of his traditional chiefly titles Tupoutoʻa.

The king attended King's School and King's College, both in Auckland. This was followed by periods at The Leys School in Cambridge,and another school in Switzerland. There were also studies at Oxford University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

The King was unmarried, and had a daughter born out of marriage, 'Ilima Lei Fifita Tohi (born 1974). She married police officer Tulutulumafua i'Olotele Kalaniuvalu in 1997, and has three children. According to the Constitution of Tonga, ʻIlima is ineligible to inherit the throne, as only children born within royal marriage may take the throne.

Crown Prince

As Crown Prince, Tupoutoʻa held great influence in Tongan politics, and was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1998. He has substantial business interests in Tonga and abroad, and is co-chairman of the Shoreline Group/Tonfön. As king, his first proclamation was that he would dispose of all his business assets as soon as reasonably possible, and in accordance with the law. Tonfön has since been sold, but the King was unable to get rid of the remainder of the Shoreline Group after the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots scared potential buyers from making a deal.

King

Styles of King George Tupou V of Tonga
Reference style	His Majesty ko ʻene ʻafio
Spoken style	Your Majesty ko hoʻo ʻafio
Alternative style	Sir

Tupou V was sworn in as King on 11 September 2006, which also made him, from a traditional viewpoint, the 23rd Tuʻi Kanokupolu (the overlords of Tongatapu).

Coronation ceremony

The ceremonial aspects of Tupou V's accession to the throne took place in July/August 2008. These were initially to be held in 2007, after the official mourning period for his father (6 months for close relatives) and his own birthday but, after the 2006 Tonga riots, he decided to focus on the reconstruction of the destroyed capital.

During a week of celebrations, two key ceremonies took place to mark Tupou's coronation. On 30 July 2008, a Taumafa Kava ceremony (royal kava ring) was held on Malaʻe Pangai, the open space to the east of the Royal Palace. During the ceremony the King sat on a pile of handwoven pandanus mats on an open pavilion facing the sea, while more than 200 Tongan nobles and chiefs dressed in woven skirts and sea shells circled him. He wore the traditional Tongan ta'ovala woven mat skirt and a garland of flowers. During this ceremony, Tupou V was formally recognised as the Tuʻi Kanokupolu, and the rightful descendent of King George Tupou I who united Tonga in the 19th century. The ceremony involved the presentation of kava to the King and assembled chiefs and nobles. Presentations of hundreds of baskets of food as well as 70 cooked pigs were made. School children held 30,000 torches on this night to proclaim Tupou V's coronation to the world. A tupakapakanava, or traditional torch spectacle, an ancient honour accorded only to the monarch and the royal family, was held later at a spot overlooking the Pacific.

A formal, European-style, coronation ceremony then took place on 1 August 2008 in the Centennial Chapel, Nuku’alofa. In an elaborate spectacle, the Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce invested Tupou V with the Tongan regalia, including the ring, sceptre and sword, and in the culmination of the ceremony, placed the Tongan Crown on his head. Royalty and nobility from around the world was in attendance.

Relinquishing authority

Three days before his coronation on 1 August 2008, the King announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister's recommendations on most matters. The Prime Minister would also be in charge of day-to-day affairs. Tupou will still have the powers to appoint judges and commute prison sentences. The King also sold off lucrative business interests as part of the announcement. In addition, the King announced that there would be parliamentary reform and elections in 2010. Fielakepa, the spokesman for the royal palace, said, "The Sovereign of the only Polynesian kingdom ... is voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of many of his people ... favour a more representative, elected Parliament. The king agrees with them."

In July 2010 the government published a new electoral roll and called Tonga's 101,900 citizens to add their names to the document so that they can take part in the historic vote, which was due to be held on 25 November. He would remain head of state, but lose his executive powers, including the ability to appoint the prime minister and ministers. However, it seemed certain that the Monarch would continue to appoint and administer the Judiciary of Tonga for the purposes of assuring political independence and neutrality is retained.

Death

Matangi Tonga reported that George Tupou V died on 18 March, 2012 in a hospital in Hong Kong, however the royal palace and other government institutions had not confirmed the report. Matangi Tonga's report read: "It was (in) Hong Kong...This news is yet to be officially confirmed but our reliable source informed us that the king was rushed to hospital early this afternoon but it is understood that he had passed away a few hours later."

Awards

On 15 September, 2011, he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic from Pál Schmitt, the president of Hungary. In February 2012 the King received the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I from Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro.

References

1. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/tongan-monarch-dies-at-63/story-e6frg6so-1226303362395
2. Crowning glory or a costly folly? George Tupou V's coronation divides Tonga The Sunday Times, July 29, 2008
3. ^ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/03/201231812573157504.html
4. Jane Phare (17 September 2006). "The madness of King George of Tonga". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
5. Tongan Government Gazette Publication 20 and Gazette Publication 19 It might be argued that he became King on his swearing in (11 Sept, midday), or on the death of his father the night before. However, although the death of his father occurred on 10 September at 23:34 in New Zealand, Siaosi was in Tonga, where the time was 0:34, 11 September.
6. user account | Matangi Tonga Online
7. ^ "King of Tonga crowned". TV New Zealand. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
8. "Gutted pigs and narcotic drinks welcome new king of Tonga". London: guardian.co.uk,. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
9. ^ Tedmanson, Sophie (1 August 2008). "Lavish coronation ceremony for new King of Tonga". London: TimesOnline. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
10. "Tonga's king to cede key powers", BBC, 29 July 2008
11. McMahon, Barbara (2008-07-29). "Tongan king promises 'more democracy' for Pacific island". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
12. "Tongan king to give up absolute rule". CNN. 2008-07-29. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
13. ^ "Feudal monarch agrees to give up much of his power". NZ Herald. 2008-07-29. Retrieved 2008-07-29. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. "His Majesty King George Tupou V- A Monarch for a time of change". Fiji Daily Post. 2008-07-29. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
15. King of Tonga prepares to give up power
16. "Privy Council establishes Commission of Inquiry". Government of Tonga. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
17. Rajong a magyarokért a Schmitt Pál által kitüntetett király

External links

• King George Tupou V interviewed by the BBC, 31 July 2008
• The New King of Tonga gallery

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• 1948 births
• 2012 deaths
• Alumni of the University of Oxford
• Former students of King's College, Auckland
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• Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I
• Old Leysians
• People from Tongatapu
• Tongan monarchs