the hitachi wedding tiara
Hanako Tsugaru

The Hitachi Wedding Tiara

The future Princess Hitachi, Hanako Tsugaru, received this tiara when she married Masahito, Prince Hitachi, in 1964. Embed from Getty Images Masahito, Prince Hitachi, is the younger son of Emperor Hirohito, and he is currently third and last in the line of succession. The new tiara was called the Mikimoto Pearl and Diamond tiara, and [read more]

Queen Trung Trac and Queen Nhi
China

Queen Trung Trac and Queen Trung Nhi – The rebel sisters who became Joint Queens of Vietnam and became national heroines

Queen Trung Trac and Queen Trung Nhi are national heroines of Vietnam.[1] They led a massive rebellion against Han Chinese rule and were made queens. Even though they were ultimately defeated, they became symbols of Vietnam’s resistance against foreign invasion.[2] Queen Trung Trac and Queen Trung Nhi have been honoured in a temple and at an [read more]

Sir Basil Thomson
Sālote Tupou III

The Year of Queen Sālote Tupou III – The Treaty of Friendship

Tonga now has formal relations with many countries, but perhaps its longest-running formal relationship is with the United Kingdom. Expeditions to Tonga were led by the British explorer James Cook in 1773, 1774 and 1777. Missionaries travelled to Tonga, which led to conversions to Christianity – more specifically, Wesleyan Methodism – and strong religious ties [read more]

ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku
Elisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku

The Year of Queen Sālote Tupou III – The life and death of ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku

ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku was born on 18 May 1850 as the daughter of Tēvita ʻUnga, who became  Crown Prince of Tonga in 1875, and Fifita Vava’u. Her father was born to a secondary wife, so he only became Crown Prince after the death of his younger half-brother, Prince Vuna Takitakimālohi. Fusipala’s grandfather was the first [read more]