Tonga King Tupou VI formally crowned

 

The king of the Pacific island nation of Tonga, Tupou VI, has been formally crowned, more than three years after ascending to the throne.

Tonga gained its independence from Britain in 1970 but the monarchy stretches back 1,000 years

Tonga  is a Polynesian Sovereign State and Archipelago comprising 177 islands with a total surface area of about 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean, of which 52 islands are inhabited by its 103,000 people

The ceremony, performed by 78-year-old retired Methodist minister D'Arcy Wood, drew thousands of Tongans and tourists.

A retired Australian minister performed the crowning as it is taboo for Tongans to touch their king's head.
Former King George Tupou V died in March 2012.
On 15 March 2012, King George Tupou V contracted pneumonia and was hospitalised at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. He was later diagnosed with leukaemia. His health deteriorated significantly shortly thereafter, and he died at 3:15 pm on 18 March 2012

Tupou VI, 55, ascended to the throne after his bachelor brother died.

Foreign royals, including the Crown Prince of Japan, attended the coronation ceremony in the capital, Nuku'alofa.
Crown Prince Naruhito, the European royals Prince Georg von Habsburg of Hungary and Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg of Austria attended.

The coronation was the culmination of a week of festivities that included a traditional drinking rite, street parties and feasts.