When Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga succeeded to the throne upon the death of her father, King George Tupou II, she was barely 18 and around six months pregnant.
On 3 July 1918, Queen Sālote and her husband were finally able to move back into the Royal Palace following the period of mourning. The following day, she gave birth to a son – the future King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. There was a European doctor present who apparently frightened her by laying out several instruments. Sālote later recalled that it was “not a reassuring sight.”1 A Tongan midwife delivered the baby after jokingly telling her, “I wonder if he thinks you have brain fever instead of a baby.”2 The doctors rushed out to tell Sālote that the child was a boy weighing 11 pounds. He was named after his great-great-great-grandfather, Taufa’ähau Tupou I. The name had been chosen by Sālote’s father before his death. The baby was healthy and strong, but Sālote had internal tearing, which would cause problems later on.
The Crown Prince would later be joined by two younger brothers, Prince Uiliami Tukuʻaho, who died at the age of 16, and Prince Sione Ngū. After the birth of the youngest brother, Queen Sālote went to New Zealand for several months for a much-needed break. She left Tonga at the end of October with her three sons, three female companions, and attendants to look after her and the children.
Following their return from New Zealand, the three princes were sent to a woman named Rachel for early instruction and discipline. All three had to be trained as future leaders, but especially Taufa’ähau as the future King. They had a strict childhood, and they were disciplined with beatings. Reportedly, Taufa’ähau never cried, unlike his younger siblings.
After some time with Rachel, the boys were sent to the Wesleyan “European School.” Dorothy Ferguson, who taught the youngest two, later wrote of their spoiled behaviour, “I had to reprimand Prince John [Sione Ngū] for punching another boy in the eye. Smacked his hand (far too softly) and stood him in the corner. He did not worry about.”3 They later also attended Tupou College.
The second brother, Prince Uiliami Tuku‘aho, had been sickly for much of his life. At the end of 1935, he was seriously ill again, and his mother cared for him personally. By April 1536, it was clear that he was dying. It seemed that everyone knew, but it was never spoken out loud. Queen Sālote asked Dr Wood to see her son, and he diagnosed dropsy. On 23 April, 30 pints of fluids were drained. The area around them went quiet – there was no music, and the annual Anzac Day was limited to a brief prayer. The young Prince died on 28 April around 11.30 P.M. After months of caring for her son, Queen Sālote completely broke down. She and her husband went to visit Sydney for rest and a medical check-up.
Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau then enrolled as a law student at the University of Sydney, while Prince Sione Ngū spent three years with a private tutor in Auckland to prepare for his attendance at Newington College in Sydney.
In 1941, Tāufaʻāhau’s father became unwell. On 19 July, he had dinner at the British Residency. The following day, he attended church and had lunch before taking a nap. He suffered a heart attack in his sleep. Instead of an official lying-in-state, Queen Sālote had his body brought to her own room in the palace. His body rested there until 22 July and was then brought down so that the final respects could be paid. During this time, both Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau and Prince Sione Ngū were in Sydney, and they had asked their mother to delay the final ceremonies of the funeral until they were back in Tonga, but they were unable to return home for Christmas. Queen Sālote then decided to proceed, which meant the Princes missed the ceremonies. At the end of 1942, Taufa’ähau completed his studies.
He returned home to Tonga on 12 December 1942 with two bachelor’s degrees – arts and law. He was the first Tongan to graduate from university. He had been gone for quite some time, and his mother lamented, “The pity is that he feels and thinks like a European… there has to be a complete change to make everything Tongan again in order for him to carry out his true responsibilities.”4 Tāufaʻāhau wanted to modernise Tonga, which concerned his mother. Despite this, she gave him two government posts. He became Minister for Education on 1 February 1943 and Minister for Health on 6 November 1944. In 1945, he was given his late father’s title of Tungī.
In 1947, both Princes simultaneously announced their betrothals. A double wedding was organised so that the people wouldn’t be burdened with the cost of two separate weddings. The Crown Prince’s bride was Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe. The wedding took place over three days, from 10 to 12 June 1947. There was a European ceremony on 10 June and a traditional Tongan ceremony on 12 June. Both couples were married at the Royal Chapel. Queen Sālote was delighted to have daughters at last, and she was especially fond of Melenaite, whom she often took with her, even on extended visits. The Crown Prince and his new wife went to live at Pikula, about two kilometres from the Royal Palace.
Their first child was born on 4 May 1948. It was a boy – the future King George Tupou V.
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