Coronation of His Majesty King Tupou VI of Tonga: 4 July 2015

[Chubb Fuddler]

The broadcast from Tonga just finished. TV New Zealand seemed to start their streaming a bit late, but I found TV Tonga 1 was streaming and I was just in time to see the King and Queen crowned. The ceremony was not as grand and well organised as the coronation in 2006, but it was still very moving, and there seemed to be a genuine warmth for the King and Queen. The music was very good, and the recessional to the tune of the old Austrian Imperial Anthem was a nice touch.

I was interested to see that His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Ao o le Malo of Samoa, and his wife, Her Highness Masiofo Filifilia Tamasese nee Imo, were seated in the balcony with the Queen Mother Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (more evidence that Samoa is indeed a monarchy of sorts?)

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan looked relaxed and interested in everything. They got a huge cheer as they left the church. The Crown Prince must have been very pleased to have his wife with him. The Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Jerry Mateparae, looked the part, but, unfortunately, the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, did not. Sir Peter really should stick to military uniform for formal occasions. It was a bit of a surprise to see Archduke Karl of Austria and his brother Archduke Georg, and no doubt they appreciated hearing the kaiserhymne. It seems that Archduke Georg visited Tonga a few years ago to promote ties between Tonga and Hungary. I hope there will be some official photographs released later on today.

[kathia_sophia]

Are there any pictures? I missed the ceremony.

[Fürstin Taxis]

King Tupou VI crowned in coronation in Tonga - World News | TVNZ

Blurry pic though

[kathia_sophia]

Thank you. I found two more pictures
Thousands witness coronation of Tonga's King | Radio New Zealand News

[Dman]

Anyone from the British royal family were in attendance?

[Al_bina]

Originally Posted by Dman

Anyone from the British royal family were in attendance?

The UK was represented by Simon Arthur, 4th Baron Glenarthur. No one from the British royal family attended the ceremony.

[eya]

Thank you all for the informations and video. And it was so nice be there Masako. I hope to see her more often outside Japan.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Jacknch

I think as we are an extra one hour ahead as it is Summertime, the live feed will start at 11pm in the UK. I'm staying up anyway to watch and will keep checking the live-stream Chubb Fuddler kindly gave the link for.

Tonga is 13 hours ahead of GMT but as the UK is in Summer Time, and therefore an hour ahead of GMT, Tonga is 12 hours ahead at present.

[Spheno]

Tonga crowns King Tupou VI in lavish public coronation, parties - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (+ picture gallery)

http://www.smh.com.au/national/tonga...03-gi49br.html (+ picture gallery)

[Jacknch]

Originally Posted by Iain

Tonga is 13 hours ahead of GMT but as the UK is in Summer Time, and therefore an hour ahead of GMT, Tonga is 12 hours ahead at present.

Yup, you were right, the link I checked out didn't show the live link at 10pm so I left it until 11pm and looked on another webpage and just saw the King leaving after the coronation! Hopefully I will find some video footage on Youtube and will post it if I do.
From what I have seen, the ceremony seemed less grand than the previous one - the throne for instance was not the golden one used before.

[Fürstin Taxis]

Tonga Marks Coronation Of King Tupou VI Thumbnails - Pictures - Zimbio

[An Ard Ri]

BBC News

Tonga King Tupou VI formally crowned - BBC News

[Tilia C.]

Pictures on gettyimages: Tonga Marks Coronation Of King Tupou Vi Bilder | Getty Images
Everything looks very dignified, imho. It is nice to see the crown princely couple of Japan at the event.

[Fürstin Taxis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct83bQv3kTk

Masako is mesmerizing imo.

[HereditaryPrincess]

I don't know much about the Tongan RF, but I think I'm going to do some research on them and read up about them here. It is nice that they wore traditional Tongan dress for some of the celebrations.

It's great to see CP Masako out and about, and she also looks quite happy and relaxed. I loved her white dress she wore today.

Whilst it would've been nice if the BRF could send a royal representative, I expected them not to attend because of the reputation they have for missing foreign royal events. Do we have a Tongan embassy in Britain?

[SLV]

Originally Posted by HereditaryPrincess

I don't know much about the Tongan RF, but I think I'm going to do some research on them and read up about them here. It is nice that they wore traditional Tongan dress for some of the celebrations.

It's great to see CP Masako out and about, and she also looks quite happy and relaxed. I loved her white dress she wore today.

Whilst it would've been nice if the BRF could send a royal representative, I expected them not to attend because of the reputation they have for missing foreign royal events. Do we have a Tongan embassy in Britain?

As far as I read, none of the 'major' Royal Houses sent anyone, except for Japan. So it's nothing extraordinary that there are no British Royals.

[Tilia C.]

Both Tonga and Japan are in the Pacific region. So imo it is quite understandable that the relationship with Japan is closer than that with the European monarchies.

[Al_bina]

Thanks for photos and video!
Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako were the highest raniking royals that attended the coronation. The non-attedance of other royal houses does not come as a surprise.

Crown Princess Masako looked lovely.

[Jacknch]

A link to nice picture of Naruhito and Masako from Japan Today - click on image to get full size:

http://www.japantoday.com/images/siz.../07/tongan.jpg

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Jacknch

Yup, you were right, the link I checked out didn't show the live link at 10pm so I left it until 11pm and looked on another webpage and just saw the King leaving after the coronation! Hopefully I will find some video footage on Youtube and will post it if I do.
From what I have seen, the ceremony seemed less grand than the previous one - the throne for instance was not the golden one used before.

I tried the link for TVNZ and there was a news article about the coronation but no sign of showing it. Then the newscaster mentioned going on to Facebook to get a link to the live streaming but I searched their FB and couldn't find it. I later found out that they posted it just as the King and Queen left the church. I managed to find the ceremony on Tongan TV but it kept freezing at first, though this later stopped, and the picture was a bit distorted which made everyone look small and dumpy. You are right about the golden throne. King George Tupou V had it made in China but as the present King is more traditional in his outlook he used the thrones that his parents, grandmother, and great grandfather had used.
I noticed was that the queen was crowned with a new crown and not the one traditionally used for the crowning of the Queen Consort. Queen Mata'aho was crowned with it and wore it along with her coronation robes at the coronation of George Tupou V but at this coronation she too had a new crown and wore Tongan dress.
The ceremony was less grand than the last one but, apart from the fact that the King is conscious of cost in todays financial climate, Tongan coronations are not usually grand affairs as can be witnessed in the video of the 1967 coronation in the tiny royal chapel.
One thing I wasn't too happy about, and this happened at the last coronation too, was the clapping when the King and Queen entered and left the church and also at the moment of crowning. Each member of the royal family was also clapped as they left the building and I felt that it was not appropriate in such solemn ceremony.