Viliami Tungī Mailefihi

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1 November 1888 – 20 July 1941) was a

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 ...

n high chieftain and Prince of Tonga as the husband of Queen Sālote Tupou III. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1923 until his death in 1941.

Biography

Prince Tungi was the son of

Siaosi Tukuʻaho Siaosi Tukuʻaho was a politician from Tonga who served as Prime Minister of Tonga The prime minister of Tonga (historically referred to as the premier) is the head of government of Tonga. Tonga is a monarchy with the List of monarchs of T ...

(Lord Tungi of Tatakamotonga), who served as Prime Minister of Tonga from to 1890 to 1893. Tungī's grandfather was Tungī Halatuituia. The line of Tungī chiefs hailed from the exalted village of Tatakamotonga. They were descended from the defunct line of Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua High Chiefs, who in that time were more or less seen as deputy rulers under the Tuʻi Tong Kings. As such, they had a fiercely loyal following among the people of Muʻa if not from the whole Hahake district of Tongatapu Island. His mother, Lady Mele Siuʻilikutapu was the granddaughter of the Tuʻi Vavaʻu: Fīnau ʻUlukālala III (Tuapasi). As the nephew of the young and unmarried King Siaosi Tupou II, Tungi was the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the throne until the birth of King Siaosi's first child, Princess Sālote, in 1900. In 1911 Prince Tungi represented the Tongan king at the coronation of King George V in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Tungī was educated at Tupou College, Tonga and

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

, Sydney, commencing in 1896, aged nine. He was one of seven Tongan nobles to attend Newington at the time. He was a follower of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He was selected by King Siaosi Tupou II to marry his elder daughter and heiress presumptive, Princess Sālote. The King favored this match even though she was 12 years younger than Tungi. The Christian wedding ceremony took place on 19 September 1917. The traditional Tongan matrimonial ceremony (known as the Tu'uvala) was celebrated on 21 September. In less than a year, King Siaosi Tupou II would die and his daughter (The Princess Sālote) would be crowned as the regnant Queen of Tonga. The opening years of Queen Salote's reign were fraught with political difficulties. There was a schism between the two branches of the Methodist Church; and a republican movement threatened to unseat the fledgling monarch. The personality and high status of Prince Tungi helped to elevate the esteem of the people toward their young queen. One of the most eminent accomplishments (contributed by Queen Salote and Prince Tungi) was the births of their children. Between them, The Queen and her Consort carried the blood of all three ancient royal dynasties: the Tu'i Tonga, the Tu'i Ha'atakalaua and the Tu'i Kanokupolu. Their son (The Prince Tuku'aho) died in 1936. However, the other two sons (The Prince Taufa'ahau and The Prince Sione) carried and passed on the combined bloodlines of the three ancient royal dynasties. Prince Tungi served as his wife's Prime Minister from 1923 until his death in 1941. His own experience helped him to train The Queen in the vocation of kingship and government. His death in 1941 during the Second World War was a devastating blow to Queen Salote and yet like Britain's Queen Victoria, she learned to serve her people in spite of her grief and loss.

Family tree

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tungi Lailefihi 1888 births 1941 deaths Royal consorts of Tonga Tungi Tungi Mailefihi Tongan Methodists Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire Prime ministers of Tonga Governors of Vavaʻu 20th-century Tongan politicians Children of prime ministers of Tonga