The Royal Palace of the Kingdom of

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

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 Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. 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 constitutional monarch of Tonga was George Tupou I. 2008 cession of powers Three days before his coronation on 1 ...

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

Overview

In line with the deference Tongans have for the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

, poets almost never refer to the palace (''pālasi'') by name, but use ''heliaki'' or allegoric references like: ''Fanga-tapu'' ("sacred beach", for the stretch of shoreline fronting the building); ''Loto-ā'' ("inside the fence"); ''Ā-maka'' ("stone fence"); and ''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 (Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi; 4 July 1918 – 10 September 2006) was List of monarchs of Tonga, King of Tonga from 1965 until his death in 2006. He was the tallest and heaviest Tongan monarch, weighing and measuring . ...

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 Kolovai is a village on the Tongan island of Tongatapu. Its 2006 population was 4,098. The village is notable for its lakalaka, the national dance of Tonga. A national monument has been proposed to preserve the site of the koka tree where members ...

, and both ''Tufumāhina'' and ''Vila'' (

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

) between Koloua and

Pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

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

George Tupou V George Tupou V (Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 194818 March 2012) was King of Tonga from 2006 until his death in 2012. He was the eldest son of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. After ascending the throne, George Tupou ann ...

, far away from any neighbours. Since his death, that palace has 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 Consti ...

on the other side. It is expected that the present king will also hold royal audiences there again, instead of the now-deserted residence of the former

British High Commissioner In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is genera ...

. There is ''Tauakipulu'' palace on

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

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

Niuatoputapu Niuatoputapu (''The Sacred Niua'') is a volcanic island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island. ...

. The palace of Eua is just north of the harbour in Taanga. In the 1980s, King 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 monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe Halaevalu Mataʻaho 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 King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI. Biography ...

, who died on 19 February.

References

External links

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