Crown of Tonga

The Crown of Tonga was minted for King George Tupou the First at the behest of his prime minister, The Reverend Shirley Waldemar Baker.[1] The crown was fashioned by a goldsmith in Sydney, Australia, in 1873.[2] The gold crown of Tonga is reputedly the largest and heaviest crown in the world.[3]

For some time, Tonga's independence had been threatened by France. [4] Since 1862 the German Empire also posed a threat to Tonga's independence with threats of annexation.[5] The King and Reverend Baker composed the Constitution of 1875, which is still in effect today.[6] At this time, Tonga also adopted a national flag, a coat-of-arms and a national anthem.[7]

The first king to be crowned with the historic diadem was King George Tupou II, the great-grandson and successor of Tupou the First. Tupou II was crowned on 17 March 1893. Tupou [8] II was succeeded by his eldest daughter, who became Queen Sālote Tupou III. She was crowned on 11 October 1918.[9] Queen Sālote was succeeded by her eldest son, who became King Tāufa'āhau Tupou IV. He was crowned on his 49th birthday, 4 July 1967. King Tāufa'āhau was succeed by his eldest son, who became King George Tupou V. He was crowned on 1 August 2008.

Tupou V died in March 2012, and was succeeded by his youngest brother, who now reigns as King Lāvaka Tupou VI.

References

  1. ↑ Rutherford, Noel (1996). Shirley Baker and the King of Tonga. Honolulu: University Press of Hawai'i. p. 71. ISBN 0-8248-1856-3.
  2. ↑ Latukefu, Sione (1974). Church And State In Tonga. Canberra: Australian National University Press. p. 166. ISBN 0-7081-0402-9.
  3. ↑ Gwen Blamires, op. cit., pp. 19-20; and Papers of Margarget Armstrong, MS 867, Auckland Institute and Museum Library.
  4. ↑ Rutherford, Noel (1978). The Friendly Islands: A History of Tonga. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 161. ISBN 0-19-550519-0.
  5. ↑ Latukefu, Sione (1974). Church And State In Tonga. Canberra: Australian National University Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-7081-0402-9.
  6. ↑ Rutherford, Noel (1996). Shirley Baker and the King of Tonga. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 71. ISBN 0-8248-1856-3.
  7. ↑ Rutherford, Noel (1978). The Friendly Islands: A History of Tonga. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 175. ISBN 0-19-550519-0.
  8. ↑ Rutherford, Noel (1978). The Friendly Islands: A History of Tonga. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-19-550519-0.
  9. ↑ Grosvenor, Melville Bell; Edwin Stuart Grosvenor (March 1968). "South Seas' Tonga Hails A King". National Geographic Magazine. 3 133 (March 1968): 322–343.
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