Following some criticism of the Tongan King’s absence from the island kingdom, Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka has called for closure in a speech at a memorial service for those who died when the ferry the Princess Ashika sank. During his speech he emphasised that whilst they had gathered to remember those who were lost, they must also celebrate the lives saved.

Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka called for the people of Tonga to band together, and support each other, saying that “In times of national crisis nations are forged and defined. I believe that this is the greatest disaster this country has suffered since the influenza epidemic of 1918. I pray, and appeal to you all – that now is the time to put aside differences. Now is the time to work together.”

The Crown Prince also commended the “spirit of cooperation and getting the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible” of the military personnel of Tonga, Australia and New Zealand, and of the Tongan civilians.

A ceremony was also held at sea, above the sunken ship; it was attended by the Princess Regent, Princess Pilolevu Tuita. The princess and other dignitaries dropped wreaths into the water, and a plaque bearing the names of those lost in the tragedy.

marmi Tongan Royals Memorial, Prince Tupouto'a Lavaka, Princess Pilolevu Tuita

There has been criticism in the New Zealand media of the Tongan King’s recent trip to Scotland. The criticism has arisen as Tonga has recently suffered the tragic sinking of a ferry, with many people perishing. At least 149 people were on board, with 54 survivors having being found, and 2 bodies. The number dead is unconfirmed. The ferry was in a questionable condition at the time, and for many days the location of the ship below the water was unknown. The ferry, the Princess Ashika, was located by the New Zealand Navy yesterday, although she is in water 50-60 metres too deep for the New Zealand and Australian Navy divers to reach.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key’s only comment about the King’s travelling during a time of such grief was that he understood that the trip was a long term commitment, and the Tongan education minister defended King George Tupou, saying that it was an official visit. The public’s reaction to the King’s trip seems to be mixed, with reports that those Tongans at home are not concerned by his absence, yet there have been outpourings of anguish and grief on the internet.

marmi Tongan Royals George Tupou V, Media, New Zealand, Official Visit, Prime Minister Key, Scotland

 The Tongan monarchy is reported to have held the most power in the 13th century. By the next century, there were three royal lines in Tonga. This arose when the King retained his spiritual authority, but delegated all other power to his brother; this happened again later with the second royal line, creating the third. Day-to-day ruling was carried out by Tu’i Ha’atakalaua and Tu’i Kanokupolu lines; it was the Tu’i Tonga line who had retained spiritual authority.

The three lines continued, and in the 17th and 18th centuries conversion to Christianity began, and Taufa’ahau, of the Tu’i Kanokupolu line was one of the first royals to convert. Taufa’ahau was named Siaosi (George) (his consort became Salote, or Charlotte), representing the King and Queen of England. Captain Cook made several visits to the island nation, and shortly after the last one the three lines began to compete for dominance.

George went on to unite the islands of Tonga, and the present dynasty was founded when he was crowned King George Tupou I in 1845.

For more information, see this website.

marmi Tongan Royals George Tupou I

On July 7 New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key began a series of official visits to Tonga, Samoa, Niue, and the Cook Islands. During the visit, Key will meet with all four Prime Ministers; he will also meet King George Tupou V of Tonga. The visits will last until July 10.

Click to see the image at Matangi Online

The meeting (in fact meetings, plural) with the King took place on the 7th, the first being an audience soon after the Prime Minister’s arrival in the island nation. The second meeting was a dinner, reported to have lasted late into the night. The audience took place at Consular House, where the official delegation met the King’s dogs, Pulupa and Estelle.

Key is flying between the islands with the RNZAF, and the official delegation includes (amongst others) the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Georgina te Heuheu and Maori Party co-leader, Dr Pita Sharples. Bronagh Key, the PM’s wife, is also travelling with the delegation.

HM King George Tupou V travelled to New Zealand in 2006 to attend the funeral of the Maori Queen, and her son’s coronation.

marmi New Zealand Royals, Tongan Royals George Tupou V, Official Visit, Prime Minister Key

Click to see the image at Royal Blog

  HM Queen Elizabeth II today knighted former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon, as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of his 2000-2008 (two terms) “outstanding” service as Secretary-General. Today is Commonwealth Day, a fitting day for his knighting.

Sir Don McKinnon was also New Zealand’s longest serving Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is also a member of the Order of New Zealand and McKinnon’s wife and two sons attended today’s ceremony with the Queen. Following the ceremony the new Knight and the Queen talked for a half hour; discussing not only the Commonwealth, but horses and cattle too.

Current New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has congratulated the new Sir Don McKinnon on his knighthood.

marmi British Royals, New Zealand Royals Elizabeth II, Knighthood, Orders, Sir Don McKinnon

 Early this month we wrote about a proposal to open Buckingham Palace to the public beyond the two months it is currently open, in a bid to raise funds for urgent repairs needed, the bill running to the many millions of pounds.

The Telegraph is now reporting that this proposal (by MPs) has been turned down because the palace is a place of work for the royal family, who use it to hold receptions and investitures, and to receive and entertain dignitaries.

This includes the proposal to open the palace only on Saturdays and Sundays, reportedly on the basis that the cost of hiring the necessary staff would exceed the extra revenue generated.

For the previous blog, click here. For the Daily Telegraph article, click here.

marmi British Royals Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth II, Finances

 There will be no ’senior royals’ attending the inaugural Armed Forces Day in Kent, according to the British media. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will attend the event, and one Buckingham Palace spokesman has referred to the couple as ’senior royals’, although this does not seem to match the call from the public.

The palace official pointed out the Duke and Duchess’s multiple visits to the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan last year. The Duke is the patron of the Normandy Veterans Association, and 19th in line to the throne.

The event will take place on Saturday at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, and the Duke and Duchess will receive the royal salute as Her Majesty’s representatives. On the same day, Queen Elizabeth will be in Edinburgh to present the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards with campaign medals, whilst the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be at Highgrove. Princes Andrew and Edward are both otherwise engaged.

Armed Forces Day aims to increase public awareness and appreciation of the Armed Forces.

marmi British Royals Armed Forces Day, Duchess of Gloucester, Duke of Gloucester, Elizabeth II, Military

 Forbes has recently released their annual list of the world’s 15 richest royals. Emphasised in the article was the impact of the credit crunch, real estate values plumeting and stock market difficulties, with Forbes stating all in all the global recession has led to the royals listed losing a total of $22 billion, 17% of the total wealth listed last year. More specifically, they state that whilst two of the 15 royals’ financial positions remain unchanged, 12 have lost money. Morocco’s King Mohammed VI gained US$1 billion over the past year.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is listed as the richest royal on the list with a fortune worth US$30 billion; this is down $5 billion from last year. Next on the list is Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, whose US$20 billion fortune is unchanged from last year. The 3rd richest royal is listed as Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahayan of the United Arab Emirates with $18 billion (also down $5 billion from 2008).

Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abul Aziz fell $4 billion to $17 billion, forth place on the list. Fifth was Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum at $12 billion (a loss of $6 billion).

The rest of the list is as follows:

6. Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein
7. King Mohammed VI, Morocco
8. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar
9. Prince Albert II, Monaco
10. Prince Karim Al Husseini, Aga Khan
11. Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman
12. Queen Elizabeth II, U.K.
13. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Kuwait
14. Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, Netherlands
15. King Mswati III, Swaziland

It should be noted that different countries list and accredit the wealth of their monarch in different ways. Forbes describe the impact of this in their article.

marmi Uncategorized Finances, Wealth

 Today has been the second and final day of the State Visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain. Today there were two ceremonies for the royal visitors, who spent the day in the capital city, Wellington. The first was a wreath laying at National War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Warrior; His Majesty laid a wreath. This was followed by a welcome ceremony at parliament, which included a 100 person Royal Guard of Honor, with each of the three elements of the New Zealand Defense Forces represented and the playing of the national anthems of both New Zealand and Spain. A crowd of several hundred spectators, and the Spanish media contingent joined local media to witness the ceremony, which included a traditional Maori welcome, the powhiri, was performed.

Click for the photo at Zimbio

The powhiri is performed frequently for such occasions; amongst the most recent royal visitors to receive such a welcome were the Dutch Crown Prince and Princess in 2006. The powhiri is a process of welcoming visitors, and one part of the powhiri which has become famous internationally is the hongi. The hongi makes the visitor and the tangata whenua (the local people) “at one”; it is the exchange of the ha, the breath of life.

Click for the photo at Zimbio

A luncheon was then held in the Banquet Hall at Parliament in honor of the royal visitors. The King and Queen spoke with the Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, and Prime Minister John Key. They were present for the signing and announcement of an agreement which allows New Zealanders aged 18-30 to work in Spain for 6 months, and remain in Spain for up to a year. This is a reciprocal agreement, so Spaniards are able to visit New Zealand the same way. The agreement has an allowance for up to 200 people, and it is reported to be the 15th of its kind signed by New Zealand, the first by Spain. New Zealand has many such agreements as they support the traditional OE (Overseas Experience) taken by young Kiwis – according to some statistics up to 85% of university graduates will make the rite of passage trip to Europe, where they will work and travel for up to several years.

In the afternoon the King and Queen attended the opening of the new Spanish embassy in Wellington. HM the Queen also attended a performance by the Royal New Zealand Ballet. She was accompanied by the wife of the Prime Minister, Bronagh Key, and the performance included Balcony Pas de Deux (from Romeo and Juliet) and a preview performance from La Sylphide (which will begin showing on July 30).

The following day, Wednesday 24th June, the King and Queen are to fly the short distance to Australia to begin a State Visit there.

marmi New Zealand Royals, Spanish Royals King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, State Visit

Click the image to see the gallery at Getty

 Their Majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain today began a brief state visit to New Zealand. They arrived late Sunday evening (local time) in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city; this after a brief stop-over in Singapore en route from Spain.

The royal couple is in New Zealand with a high-powered business delegation, including Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and the Secretary of State for Trade Silvia Iranzo Gutierrez. It has been reported that the aim is to allow Spanish businesses to expand into New Zealand, and this will in return vastly increase New Zealand’s access to selling our exports in the Latin American market.

This morning (soon after 10am) King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia visited the Yacht Research Centre at the University of Auckland where pioneering research was displayed for them. Sailing is very important in New Zealand, as followers of the America’s Cup will be aware. Auckland is fondly known by New Zealanders are the City of Sails. King Juan Carlos’ interest in sailing is also well known. For photos of the visit, see this gallery.

Whilst at the University, the King and Queen met Spanish students. The Spanish government has made contributions to the university’s teachings, and they credit this as a reason for Spanish being the most popular European language taught on the campus. Read more…

marmi New Zealand Royals, Spanish Royals King Juan Carlos, Prime Minister Key, Queen Sofia, Sir Peter Blake, State Visit