Tonga’s Siaosi Tupou V was crowned king yesterday in a lavish, pomp-filled ceremony attended by royalty from around the world alongside Tongans in traditional dress.
The sovereign of Polynesia’s last monarchy sat on a huge golden throne, dressed in silk knee-breeches and a regal cloak trimmed with white ermine for the coronation ceremony, held in Nuku’alofa’s Centenary Free Wesleyan Church.
Church bells tolled and a 21-cannon salute rang out as the 60-year-old king was crowned, two years after the death of his father, Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, who reigned for 41 years.
Around 1,000 guests filled the church and hundreds more sat outside trying to catch a glimpse of the king, known as George Tupou V in English.
Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were guests of honor along with regional political leaders and Tongans wearing traditional woven mats around their waists.
Paul Ilavalu, a member of the choir that performed at the ceremony, said the country saw the coronation as a new beginning.
“We are all proud and we are happy to see our king crowned and we wish he will lead us to a new life and a new prosperity,” he said.
Originally scheduled for last year, the coronation was delayed as Nuku’alofa reeled from the impact of a November 2006 riot sparked by a political rally in which eight people were killed and dozens of buildings burned.
Since taking power in 2006, Siaosi has backed political reforms in the semi-feudal state, where nearly a quarter of the 115,000 population live under the poverty line.
He has also tried to shake off his reputation as an eccentric figure whose tastes include elaborate uniforms, colonial-era pith helmets, and monocles.
The king entered the church to a fanfare of horns followed by bearers carrying the regal symbols of power of crown, royal scepter and ring, his 3m-long train carried by two child pages.
Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce anointed the monarch with oil, and later placed the crown on his head.
The Fijian-based archbishop performed all of the rituals that involved touching the king, because protocol forbids Tongans from having physical contact with their monarch.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS