Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho
Queen Mother of Tonga
Queen Consort of Tonga
Tenure 16 December 1965 - 10 September 2006
Coronation 4 July 1967
Born (1926-05-29) 29 May 1926
Tonga
Spouse King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (m. 1947)
Issue King George Tupou V of Tonga
Princess Salote, Princess Royal
Prince Fatafehi
King Aho'eitu Tupou VI of Tonga
Full name
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe
Father Ahomeʻe (Manu-ʻo-pangai)
Mother Heuʻifanga
Religion Methodism
Royal Family of Tonga

HM The King
HM The Queen


HM The Queen Mother

Halaevalu Mata'aho (born 29 May 1926)[1] is the mother of the deceased King George Tupou V and the reigning King Tupou VI of Tonga, as well as the widow of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, who died in 2006.[2]

Biography

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926,[3] the oldest daughter of ‘Ahome’e (Manu-‘o-pangai) and his wife, Heuʻifanga, a great-granddaughter of the last King of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire.[1][4][5] The Queen Mother is a great-great-granddaughter of Maʻafu.[5] Halaevalu Mataʻaho married her husband, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, on June 10, 1947.[5] Taufa'ahau Tupou IV died in 2006.

The Queen Mother celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May.[4] The celebrations began with a Garden Party for more than one hundred Tongan women held at the home of the President of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Rev. Dr. ‘Ahio.[4] The Queen Mother attended a Catholic mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on May 26, 2011.[4] The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on May 27, with of primary school students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, including presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts.[4] A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at Centennial Church on Sunday, May 29, with a royal luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa.[4]

The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the U.S. state of Utah in July and August 2011.[6] Specifically, the Queen Mother came to visit the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, Utah, whose congregation had raised approximately $500,000 in less than a year to pay off the mortgage on the building.[6]

The Mayor of West Valley City, Michael K. Winder, awarded the Queen Mother the key to the city on July 27, 2011.[6] She met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert the next day.[6]

Patronages

Titles and honours

Titles

National Honours

See also List of honours of the Tongan Royal Family by country

Foreign Honours

Ancestry

See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.