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Writer, web designer, etc.; born in New York; educated in Argentina, Scotland, and South Africa; now based in London. read more
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Monocled Monarch is the King of Fashion
Put Taft on a raft and forget Mr. Vorster: In terms of well-dressed heads of state, the King of Tonga is one of the last of his breed
It’s an easily observable fact that, in terms of public attire, the heads of state of today generally leave much to be desired, yet the newly crowned King of Tonga (seen right) keeps up the sartorial tradition, not only of his ancestors, but of ours. George Tupou V (or Siaosi Taufa’ahau Manumataongo Tuku’aho Tupou V to give his full name) was crowned just a few weeks ago in a splendid ceremony in Nuku’alofa, the capital of “the Friendly Islands”.
Though Tonga is certainly not the only monarchy in the Pacific — Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are the most prominent — it is one of the smallest and certainly one of the most traditional. So traditional, in fact, that it is on the naughty list of the CIA-linked “Freedom House” foundation. Tonga’s crime? That only a minority of the members of Tonga’s parliament, the Fale Alea, are directly elected. Of the 30 members, 9 are elected by a general electorate, 9 are elected by the nobility, 10 are members of the Privy Council, and 2 are governors appointed by the King. Curiously, Freedom House does not treat the United Kingdom the same as Tonga, despite the majority of parliamentarians being either directly appointed by the Crown or elected by hereditary lords — elected MPs consist of less than half of parliament.
His Majesty reigns over a kingdom that is predominantly Wesleyan in religion, but he was crowned by an Anglican archbishop from Fiji (itself a hybrid monarchy-republic) because Tongans are not allowed to touch the Royal Person. (Also, there are no Wesleyan archbishops, and it would hardly do for a King to be crowned by a mere minister!).
The King’s amicable nature ensures that the Tongan realm lives up to their sometime moniker of “the Friendly Islands”; above, His Majesty meets with one of his honorary consuls to Australia.
The King is seen here visiting his fellow monarch Elizabeth II on a visit to London. Tonga has long enjoyed friendly relations with Great Britain, having been a British-protected state from 1900 until 1970, and the Kingdom remains a Commonwealth nation today. His Majesty’s traditional sense of style frequently includes a monocle and top hat. While he does not look out of place at Buckingham Palace, his natural attire makes his audiences with less traditional heads of state (witness H.M. with President Shimon Peres of Israel, topmost, right) makes the boring leaders seem inappropriately dressed.
I am sure that all of our readers will join in wishing His Majesty a happy and blessed reign, that justice and order will flourish in Tonga, and that the Pacific seas will remain true to their name.
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A lovely little piece, and with such nice pictures! God save the king!
Simply splendid. One feels impelled to go live there.
Dear Mr. Cusack,
I just wanted to let you know I’ve linked to this splendid article on King George Tupou V of Tonga. It’s good to cover this region of the world and its monarchy – I think that people forget about it all too often. At least in our part of the world!
Anyway, thanks again for a lovely article.
Regards,
Mandy
Interesting that he chose to be crowned by an Anglican when he is not Anglican himself. I also found your comment that it wouldn’t do for him to be crowned by a “mere Minister” interesting precisely because his predecessor WAS! Why was it OK then and not now, I wonder?
Hello, great article! I attended the coronation, it was great. I did a whole series of post while I was there you can read online …
http://private-islands.blogspot.com/search/label/Tongan%20Coronation