Sālote Lupepauʻu ( – 8 September 1889) was the Queen consort of

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

from 1845 to 1889. She was the wife of

George Tupou I George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan equivalent of ''George'', after King George III of the U ...

and namesake of the Queen Salote College.

Life

Born around 1811, Lupepauʻu was the daughter of Tamatauʻhala, ''Makamālohi'' and Halaʻevalu Moheʻofo. Her father was the son of the daughter of the

Tuʻi Tonga Fefine Tu'i Tonga Fefine ("Female Tu'i Tonga") was a title granted to the eldest heiress of the Tu'i Tonga, or spiritual leader of Tonga, in ancient times. She held a higher social status than the Tu'i Tonga himself. The title is no longer in use. Accordi ...

and her mother was the daughter of Fīnau ʻUlukālala II ʻi Feletoa. Lupepauʻu was considered to be of high ''sino'i 'eiki'' rank in the traditional order. From an early age, she was married to

Laufilitonga Fatafehi Laufilitonga (24 August 1797 – 9 December 1865) was the 39th and last Tui Tonga, a dynasty of kings in Tonga during the Tui Tonga Empire. Biography Only little is known about Laufilitonga's life. Laufilitonga was the oldest son ...

, the last holder of the title

Tuʻi Tonga The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu, and withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the ''Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. The title ended with the death ...

. Tāufaʻāhau (the future

) eloped with Lupepauʻu sometime after Laufilitonga's defeat at

Battle of Velata The Battle of Velata was fought at Tau'akipulu, Haʻapai, Tonga in September 1826, between Laufilitonga, monarch of the Tuʻi Tonga The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu ...

against the forces of Tāufaʻāhau. After his adoption of Christianity, Tāufaʻāhau repudiated all his secondary consorts and their children and made Lupepauʻu his principal wife. After their conversion, Tāufaʻāhau took the name George Tupou I in honor of King

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until Acts of Union 1800, the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was ...

while Lupepauʻu was named ''Sālote'' or

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

after Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. With George Tupou I, she had two sons: Tuʻuakitau (1839–1842) and Vuna Takitakimālohi (1844–1862). Their children were the only heirs of Tupou I considered legitimate and eligible to succeed to the Tonga throne under Christian law and the childless death of Vuna in 1862 left the question of succession in question The succession would remain vacant for thirteen years until the promulgation of Tonga's first constitution in 1875, which legitimized Tupou's illegitimate son

Tēvita ʻUnga Tēvita ʻUnga ( 1824 – 18 December 1879) was the first Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Tonga. Life Born in 1824 to Tuʻi Haʻapai Tāufaʻāhau and one of his secondary wives, Kalolaine Fusimatalili, of the Fusitua line. His father T� ...

and named him Crown Prince. Queen Charlotte of Tongatabu, 1854, watercolour by James Gay Sawkins

In 1854, she sat for a watercolor portrait painted by British geologist

James Gay Sawkins James Gay Sawkins (1806–July 20, 1878) was an artist, geologist, copper miner, and illustrator. He was a member of the Geological Society of London who joined and led research during England's West Indian Geological Surveys of the islands of Tr ...

. Lupepauʻu died on 8 September 1889. In 1914, the Kolisi Fefine was renamed Queen Salote College in her honor. The name Sālote would become a recurring tradition in the Tongan royal family. Her husband's great-great granddaughter

Sālote Tupou III Sālote Tupou III (born Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu; 13 March 1900 – 16 December 1965) was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, longer than any other Tongan monarch. She was well known for her height ...

, however, was named after her great-grandmother Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{S-end Tongan royalty 1811 births 1889 deaths Tongan Methodists Tongan royal consorts 19th-century Tongan women 19th-century Tongan people