Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe (29 May 1926 – 19 February 2017) was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (born Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi; 4 July 1918 – 10 September 2006) was the King of Tonga, from the death of his mother, Queen Sālote Tupou III, in 1965 until his own death in 2006. Immediately prior to his death, ...

. She was the

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

of George Tupou V, King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga,

Tupou VI Tupou VI (; 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 Throne of Tonga, as his ...

Biography

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926, the eldest daughter of The Hon. Tevita Manu-’o-pangai, ‘Ahome’e, sometime Governor of Vava’u and Ha’apai and Minister for Police and his wife, Heuʻifanga Veikune, a great-granddaughter of the

Tu'i Tonga Tu'i, also spelled more simplistically Tui, is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally, ...

. She was also a great-great-granddaughter of

Enele Maʻafu ʻEnele Maʻafuʻotuʻitonga, commonly known as Maʻafu, (circa 1816 — 6 February 1881) was a Pacific islander who held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a Fijian chief nominated and in ...

Education

She was educated at St Joseph's Convent School, Nuku’alofa, and St Mary's College, in Auckland, New Zealand.

Marriage

On 10 June 1946, Halaevalu married her distant relative Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau of Tonga (eldest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga (1900-1965) and Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi). The Queen Mother celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May. The celebrations began with a garden party for more than one hundred Tongan women held at the home of the President of the

Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has it ...

, Rev. Dr. ‘Ahio. The Queen Mother attended a Roman

Catholic mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on May 26, 2011. The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on May 27, with

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts. A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at the Centennial Church on Sunday, May 29, and a

luncheon Lunch is a meal eaten around the middle of the day. It is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast, and varies in size by culture and region. Etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the etymology ...

at the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain James ...

. The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in July and August 2011. Specifically, the Queen Mother came to visit the Tongan United Methodist Church in

West Valley City, Utah West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 census, making it the second-largest city in Utah. The city incorporated in 1980 from a large, quic ...

, whose congregation had raised approximately $500,000 in less than a year to pay off the mortgage on the building. The Mayor of

West Valley City West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns in ...

, Michael K. Winder, awarded the Queen Mother the

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

on July 27, 2011. She also met with Utah Governor

Gary Herbert Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle. Herbert w ...

the next day.

Death

On 19 February 2017, the Queen Mother died aged 90, which was confirmed by her granddaughter

Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho Princess Lātūfuipeka (Angelika Lātūfuipeka Halaevalu Mataʻaho Napua-o-kalani Tukuʻaho; born 17 November 1983, in Nukuʻalofa) is a Tongan royal and a member of the House of Tupou. Sole daughter of Tupou VI, King of Tonga, Princess Lātūfu ...

, High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia, a week after she was flown to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand, for minor medical issues; the cause of death, however, was not released publicly. Funeral Procession of Queen Halaevalu Mataʻaho 13

The Queen Mother was flown back to Tonga by the Royal Beechcraft G.18S Aircraft on February 28 flanked by the

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

of the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

, after lying-in-state at the Tongan royal residence, 'Atalanga in Epsom, Auckland.

Honours

National

* : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Pouono * : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order Order of Sālote Tupou III * : Dame of the

King George Tupou V Royal Family Order The King George Tupou V Royal Family Order was an order conferred as a sign of personal esteem from King George Tupou V to female members of the Royal family of Tonga. History The King George Tupou V Family Order was established by His Majesty G ...

* : Recipient of the Red Cross Medal * : Recipient of the King Tupou VI Coronation Medal * : Recipient of the King George Tupou V Coronation Medal * : Recipient of the King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Silver Jubilee Medal

Foreign

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Special Class * : Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Ap ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Propitious Clouds The Order of Propitious Clouds () is a civilian order of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The center of the medal features a picture of clouds, as a token of auspiciousness. This order was instituted in 1941 and classified into nine ranks. As with ...

* : Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal * : Recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

Ancestry

''See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halaevalu Mataaho Ahomee 1926 births 2017 deaths Tongan nobles Tongan royal consorts Queen mothers Princesses by marriage Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Order of the Precious Crown members Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Tonga People educated at St Mary's College, Auckland 20th-century Tongan women 21st-century Tongan women 20th-century Tongan people 21st-century Tongan people