Fortunately for Fusipala, Queen Sālote was sympathetic, and she did not put pressure on her sister to marry.
Early in 1928, Fusipala joined the Tupou College Choir for some of their concerts. She danced, played the piano and sang. She developed a romantic attachment with one of the commoner boys in the choir, Tēvita Tu’ipulotu Toutaiolepo. He was two years older than her, and Queen Sālote had personally contributed to his school fees.1 Fusipala left Melbourne for Tonga in December 1928, and she and Tēvita continued to write to each other. Queen Sālote did not outright forbid their relationship, but in the end, she could not consent to it. Fusipala would not be able to marry without the Queen’s consent and keep her place in the line of succession. If she did marry without consent, she would be removed from the line of succession and be considered dead to her father’s kāinga (kin).
During the next four years, her mother’s family continued to throw marriage proposals in the mix, hoping that Queen Sālote would agree to one. Ha’amea, the one twice her age with half a dozen kids, continued to be offered as a suitable option, even after it was discovered that he had embezzled funds. Worn down by her mother’s family, Fusipala agreed to marry him in 1929 when she was 17 years old. However, when it came time to celebrate the betrothal, Fusipala told her sister that she did not want to marry him. People were angry with her and blamed the Queen for not forcing Fusipala to go through with it.
Two years later, her brother-in-law suggested Havea Tuʻihaʻateiho, who outranked Ha’amea, and Fusipala initially agreed to marry him. She withdrew her promise not much later, claiming he was too boring and too old. He was 33 years old, while she was 19.2 Fusipala agreed to a third betrothal not much later to a man named Lala. He was the heir to the noble title Veikune and six years older than her. He was also the Queen’s second cousin through her mother, Lavinia. A rumour had appeared that Fusipala’s aunt had walked to the palace, gone upstairs and “dragged” her niece away in front of the Queen’s eyes. However, the Queen’s private secretary recorded in his diary that Fusipala had run away from the palace to her aunt’s house. This act, which represented the leaving of her sister’s protection, was such a scandal that he recorded it in red ink.3 Her mother’s family did not agree with this match, probably because he was related to the Queen. The betrothal ended with Fusipala commenting that he was a “bitter” man and there was an even better match on the horizon.4
The entire business had taken a toll on Fusipala’s health; she smoked, could not eat or sleep, and almost had a nervous breakdown. She was stuck between her loyalty to her mother’s family and her sister, the Queen.5 It turned out that Fusipala had run away from the palace because she wanted to avoid telling her sister about her latest engagement. It was her aunt who eventually broke the news to Queen Sālote that Fusipala and Sēmisi Fatafehi Fonua had sworn an oath before God that they would marry. Sēmisi was a cousin of both Fusipala and the Queen, and his mother was a granddaughter of the last Tu’i Tonga. He was also the heir to his father and his uncle, Sioeli Pangia. If they had children, they would be of such a high rank that they would outrank the Queen’s sons in the eyes of many of the aristocracy.
This pleased her mother’s family so much that they tried to pressure Queen Sālote into giving her consent. Queen Sālote told them that she would be insulting the other nobles if she agreed to the match. In the end, Fusipala and Sēmisi asked the President of the Wesleyan Church to absolve them of their solemn oath. On 8 March 1932, all three appeared before Queen Sālote, and Sēmisi was told he should marry Sisilia, a first cousin of Queen Sālote’s husband.
On the day their oath was absolved, Fusipala had written to the Queen’s private secretary, begging him to intercede with the Queen on her behalf. She wrote that she knew the Queen was rightfully angry with her because of her disobedience and because she had humiliated the Queen. She now felt unable to return to the palace. She also did not wish to be dependent on her mother’s family, who were angry with disappointment. Fusipala asked to have a household set up at Finefekai.
Queen Sālote felt that Fusipala could not be trusted with her own household. Fusipala’s aunt punished her by “thrashing” her.6 A desperate Fusipala turned to self-destructive behaviour, and she began smoking more and eating even less. Just six months later, one of her suitors returned to the stage – Ha’amea.
Queen Sālote gave her consent to the match after being assured of Fusipala’s agreement. Queen Sālote tried to show her good intentions by ordering wedding clothes and the wedding cake. Meanwhile, Fusipala remained with her aunt. Fusipala saw her sister again at a funeral on 20 October 1932, and she asked if she could return to the palace. Queen Sālote gave her consent, and she returned a few days later. Once home, Fusipala confided to her sister that she had been coerced by her aunt to agree to the engagement. Fusipala was on the edge of a nervous breakdown, and Queen Sālote immediately called for a physician. He advised that Fusipala should go overseas to regain her health. The engagement was off.
The advice to live abroad, at least for a while, brought another suitor into the mix. His name was George Cakobau, and he was a cousin of their illegitimate half-brother Edward. He was a Fijian chief, which made him an acceptable match. Fusipala agreed to marry him and to live outside of Tonga. Fusipala left Tonga with very little fanfare on 20 November 1932, and she reportedly said, “Goodbye, Tonga, Goodbye” as she left as if she expected not to return.7
Fusipala enjoyed her time away, and she spent some time in Sydney with the Hewitt family. She was still in Sydney when she fell ill in February. By March, it appeared she was getting better, and her return journey to Tonga was booked for the end of April. However, her condition deteriorated, and she was admitted to the hospital. She died on 21 April 1933 of tubercular peritonitis. She was still only 20 years old. Her brother-in-law was by her side, as he just happened to be enrolling one of his sons at school there.
Fusipala’s body returned home to Tonga on 10 May, and she lay in state in the throne room for two days. Queen Sālote gave her half-sister the royal burial she had not accorded Fusipala’s mother. She was buried at Malaʻekula on 12 May in the vault of their grandfather.
Queen Sālote wrote a lament for Fusipala, “Awake, ‘Elisiva, and walk, that I may see your beautiful feet, which were like a torch of lights, as you walked around our house.”8
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.144
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.147
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.147
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.147
- Sālote: Queen of Paradise by Margaret Hixon p.100
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.149
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.150
- Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.152
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