George Tupou V

George Tupou V (Tongan: Siaosi Tupou, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012) was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years later.

Prince Siaosi was born on 4 May 1948, as the eldest child of Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa-Tungī of Tonga (son of Queen Sālote Tupou III and Prince Viliami) and his wife Crown Princess Halaevalu.

Tupou V attended King's School and King's College, both in Auckland.

This was followed by periods at The Leys School in Cambridge, and another school in Switzerland.

He also studied at Oxford University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

Tupou V was appointed Crown Prince on 4 May 1966.

In that role, he was better known by one of his traditional chiefly titles, 'Tupoutoʻa.

In 1974, though unmarried, Tupou V had a daughter, 'Ilima Lei Fifita Tohi.

As Crown Prince, Tupoutoʻa held great influence in Tongan politics, and was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1998.

He had substantial business interests in Tonga and abroad, and was co-chairman of the Shoreline Group/Tonfön.

The King was recognised as a descendant of the sky god Tangaroa.

In 1997 she married police officer Tulutulumafua i'Olotele Kalaniuvalu and has three children.

According to the Constitution of Tonga, ʻIlima is ineligible to accede to the throne as only children born of a royal marriage may succeed.

A documentary dated June 2004 by Australian journalist Gillian Bradford identifies some of the challenges facing Tongan society but also shows that King George was in favour of a gradual transition to more extensive democracy in Tonga.

In the interview, the then-Crown Prince points out that free speech in Tonga was protected by the Constitution.

He was sworn in as King Tupou V on 11 September 2006, which also made him, from a traditional viewpoint, the 23rd Tuʻi Kanokupolu (the overlords of Tongatapu).

They were also deferred after the 2006 Tonga riots as he decided to focus instead on reconstruction of the damaged capital.

During the week of celebrations, two key ceremonies took place to mark Tupou V's coronation.

These were initially to be held in 2007 after the six-month official mourning period for his father (as required of close relatives) and his own birthday.

The ceremonial aspects of Tupou V's accession took place in July and August 2008.

On 30 July 2008, a Taumafa Kava (Royal Kava Ring ceremony) was held on Malaʻe Pangai, the open space to the east of the Royal Palace.

During the ceremony, Tupou V sat on a pile of handwoven pandanus mats in an open pavilion facing the sea, while more than 200 Tongan nobles and chiefs dressed in woven skirts and sea shells circled him.

He wore the traditional Tongan ta'ovala (woven mat skirt) and a garland of flowers.

A second, European-style coronation ceremony took place on 1 August 2008 in the Centennial Chapel, Nuku’alofa.

Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce invested George Tupou V with the Tongan regalia: the ring, sceptre and sword.

During the culmination of the ceremony, Archbishop Bryce placed the Tongan Crown on the monarch's head.

Royalty and nobility from around the world were in attendance.

Three days before his coronation on 1 August 2008, the King announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister's recommendations on most matters.

The Prime Minister would also be in charge of day-to-day affairs.

In addition, the King announced that there would be parliamentary reform and elections in 2010.

Fielakepa, the spokesman for the royal palace, said, "The Sovereign of the only Polynesian kingdom ... is voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of many of his people ... [The people] favour a more representative, elected Parliament. The king agrees with them."

In July 2010, the government published a new electoral roll and called Tonga's 101,900 citizens to add their names to the document so that they could take part in the historic vote, which was due to be held on 25 November.

He would remain head of state, but lose his executive powers, including the ability to appoint the prime minister and ministers.

However, it seemed certain that the Monarch would continue to appoint and administer the Judiciary of Tonga for the purposes of assuring that political independence and neutrality were retained.

Tupou V also retained the power to commute prison sentences.

As king, his first proclamation was that he would dispose of all his business assets as soon as reasonably possible, and in accordance with the law.

During this ceremony, Tupou V was formally recognised as the Tuʻi Kanokupolu, and the rightful descendant of King George Tupou I, who united Tonga in the 19th century.

The ceremony involved having kava, hundreds of baskets of food, and seventy cooked pigs presented to the King and the assembly of chiefs and nobles.

Later that night, schoolchildren held 30,000 torches to proclaim the coronation in what is known as a tupakapakanava.

The traditional torch spectacle was held at a spot overlooking the Pacific and is an ancient honour reserved solely for the Tongan sovereign and Royal Family.