The Royal Palace of the Kingdom 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 ...

is located in the northwest of the capital, Nukualofa, close to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. The wooden Palace, which was built in 1867, is the official residence of the

King of Tonga This is a list of monarchs of Tonga since 1845, after the Constitution of Tonga established the role of the monarch. The first monarch of Tonga was George Tupou I. 2008 cession of powers Three days before his coronation on 1 August 2008, t ...

. The palace is not open to the public, and it is easily visible from the waterfront.

Overview

In line with the deference the Tongans have for the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...

, poets almost never refer to the palace (''pālasi'') by name, but use ''heliaki'' or allegoric references like: ''Fanga-tapu'' ("sacred beach", the stretch of shoreline fronting the building), ''Loto-ā'' ("inside the fence"), ''Ā-maka'' ("stone fence"), ''Hangai Tokelau'' ("north wind against", the name of a tree near the kitchen), and so forth. The old, metre-high stone fence was so sacred to the king that none would dare sit on it, let alone cross it. However, after 1990, King

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, ...

had a 3-metre high grid fence erected. After 2000, some people broke through the gates with trucks, prompting the installation of iron bars to secure the gates.

Other royal residences

The King and royal family have several more palaces to choose from. There is a palace in Fuaamotu, as well as ''Kauvai'' near Longoteme, ''Liukava'' ("revolution") in Kolovai, and both ''Tufumāhina'' and ''Vila'' (

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became ...

) between Koloua and

Pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

. ''Vila'' was built by Crown Prince Tupoutoa in the 1990s, who lived there upon his accession as King

George Tupou V George Tupou V ( Tongan: Siaosi Tupou, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 194818 March 2012) was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years late ...

, far away from any neighbours. Since his death, that palace remained largely unused, but in 2010 major renovations were conducted. A new fence was erected and new wings added to house the Tongan National Archives on one side, and offices of the

Privy Council of Tonga The Privy Council of Tonga is the highest ranking council to advise the Monarch in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is empowered to advise the King in his capacity as Head of State and Fountain of Justice under the provisions of Clause 50 ( 1 ) of the Cons ...

on the other side. It is expected that the king will also hold royal audiences there again, instead of the now-deserted residence of the former British High Commissioner. There is ''Tauakipulu'' palace on

Lifuka Lifuka is an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located within the Haapai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa. It is the administrative centre of the Haapai group of islands with Pangai being ...

in Haapai, ''Fangatongo'' ("mangrove beach") near Talau on Vavau, and there are residences in Niuafoou and

Niuatoputapu Niuatoputapu is a high island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older European names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island. Niuatoputapu is ...

. The palace of Eua is just north of the harbour in Taanga. In the 1980s, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV had a new palace built on a mountaintop near Houma, but it was unused and by around 1990 only the artistically made bathtub remained, overgrown by weeds and disappearing sometime around 2000.

Significant events

In February 2017, a vigil marked by choral singing and small fires was held at the perimeter of the Royal Palace on the eve of the funeral of

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe (29 May 1926 – 19 February 2017) was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of George Tupou V, King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI ...

, who died on 19 February.

References

External links

{{Coord, 21, 07, 53, S, 175, 12, 02, W, type:landmark_region:TO, display=title Tongan monarchs Palaces in Tonga Buildings and structures in Nukuʻalofa Royal residences in Tonga Houses completed in 1867 Victorian architecture