Line of succession to the Tongan throne

Line of succession to the Tongan throne

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga is laid down in the 1875 constitution of the south Pacific island nation. This constitution specifies that the succession is confined to the descendants of King Siaosi Tāufaokinaāhau Tupou I, through his son Crown Prince Tēvita okinaUnga and the his son Prince Uelingatoni Ngū (all names in modern spelling). (Tēvita okinaUnga was an illegitimate son, but all of Siaosi Tāufaokinaāhau Tupou's legal sons had died before; at the end both Tēvita okinaUnga and Uelingatoni Ngū also died before him). It also established primogeniture, with male offspring having precedence over females. The Heir Apparent is styled by the title Crown Prince; other sons are styled Prince. All are addressed as "His Royal Highness".

Article 32

Article 32 of the constitution (31 December 1988 version) reads:

The right and title of King George Tupou I to the Crown and the Throne of this Kingdom were confirmed by the Constitution of 1875 and it was further declared in the said Constitution that the succession to the Crown and Throne should devolve upon David Uga and then upon Wellington Gu and then upon them begotten by him in marriage and if at any time there be no heirs of Wellington Gu the Crown and Throne shall descend in accordance with the following law of succession:

It shall be lawful only for those born in marriage to succeed.

The succession shall be to the eldest male child and the heirs of his body but if he should have no children to the second male child and the heirs of his body and so on until all the male line shall be ended.

Should there be no male child the eldest female child shall succeed and the heirs of her body and if she should have no children it shall descend to the second female child and the heirs of her body until the female line is ended.

And if there shall be none of this line of David Uga lawful descendants by marriage to succeed to the Crown of Tonga it shall descend to William Tungi and his lawful heirs begotten by him in marriage and to their heirs begotten by them.

And if there should be no lawful heir the King shall appoint his heir if the House of Nobles consent to it (the representatives of the people having no voice in the matter) and he shall be publicly declared heir to the Crown during the King's life.

Should there be no heir to the Crown or successor who has been so publicly proclaimed the Prime Minister or in his absence the Cabinet ministers shall convoke the nobles of the Legislative Assembly (the representatives of the people having no voice in the matter) and when they meet the House of Nobles shall choose by ballot some one of the chiefs whom they wish to succeed as King. And he shall succeed as the first of a new dynasty and he and the heirs of his body born in marriage shall possess the Crown according to law.

And in the event of there being none to succeed according to this law the Prime Minister or in his absence the Cabinet ministers shall again convoke the nobles of the Legislative Assembly in accordance with this law and they shall choose one to succeed to the Throne as the first of a new dynasty and so on according to this law for ever.

Article 33

A few more articles deal with minor succession issues, the most important one in current times is article 33.(1):

It shall not be lawful for any member of the Royal Family who is likely to succeed to the throne to marry any person without the consent of the King. And if any person should thus marry the consort [the] marriage shall not be considered legal and it shall be lawful for the King to cancel the right of such person and his heirs to succeed to the Crown of Tonga. And the next person in succession to him who so marries shall be declared the heir and the offender shall be regarded as dead.

This article applied to Fatafehi okinaAlaivahamamaokinao Tukuokinaaho (later known as Māokinaatu), the second son of the then-incumbent king, Tāufaokinaāhau Tupou IV, when he married a commoner against the wishes of his father. He and all his issue were consequently forever removed from the list. [ROYAL PROCLAMATION CLAUSE 33 - G. 165/80 ] It was also threatened to apply on Mele Siuokinailikutapu Tukuokinaaho, the king's niece, when she ran off with Josh Liavaokinaa [act 12/69 of law 4 of 1970] .

Practicals

Due to George Tupou I's longevity, he was eventually succeeded by his great grandson, styled George Tupou II, in 1893. He was succeeded in 1918 by his eldest surviving daughter, Queen Salote (Salote Tupou III), who married the only heir of the above mentioned Viliami (William) Tungī. She in turn was succeeded by her son Tāufaokinaāhau Tupou IV in 1965. Finally, as for now, the latter was succeeded by George Tupou V sworn in on 11 September 2006. As the current king has no legal heir the next in line are his youngest brother and his heirs.

The current line of succession is as follows:
#Prince okinaAhookinaeitu okinaUnuakiokinaotonga Tukuokinaaho, third son of King Tāufaokinaāhau Tupou IV, better known as Tupoutookinaa Lavaka.
#Prince Siaosi Manumataongo okinaAlaivahamamaokinao okinaAhookinaeitu Konstantin Tukuokinaaho, elder son of (1), better known as okinaUlukālala.
#Prince Uiliame okinaUnuakiokina'otonga Lalaka mo e okinaEiki Tukuokinaaho, younger son of (1), better known as Ata.
#Princess okinaAngelika Lātūfuipeka Halaokinaevalu Mataokinaaho Napuaokinaokalani Tukuokinaaho, daughter of (1).
#Princess Sālote Mafileokinao Pilolevu Tuita (born Tukuokinaaho), daughter of King Tāufaokinaāhau Tupou IV.
#Salote Lupepauokinau Tuita, daughter of (5)
#Ana Seini Fusituokinaa, daughter of (6)
#Fanetupou Vavaokinau Tuita, second daughter of (5)
#Frederica Tuita, third daughter of (5)
#Lupeolo Tuita, fourth daughter of (5)

With the accession of George Tupou V, the following persons should be no longer eligible:
#Mele Siuokinailikutapu, eldest daughter of current King's deceased grand uncle
#Hon. Kalaniuvalu, eldest son of (11)
#Hon. Fotofili, second son of (11)
#Elisiva Taukiokinaonetuku, sister of (11)
#Hon Vahaokinai, son of (14)
#Sosefa Alemata Vahaokinai, second son of (14)
#'Elisiva Vahaokinai, eldest daughter of (14)
#'Ofeina Vahaokinai, second daughter of (14)
#Lavinia Mata-o-Taone, second sister of (11)
#Tevita okinaUnga Maokinaafu, son of (19)
#Lavinia Maokinaafu, daughter of (19)
#'Ofeina okinae he Langi, third sister of (11)
#Hon Fakafanua, son of (22)
#Hon Baron Vaea, first issue from Queen Salote's half-brother
#Alipate Vaea, son of (24)

References


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