Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

Queen Mother of Tonga

(m. 1946; died 2006)

IssueGeorge Tupou V of Tonga
Salote, Princess Royal
Prince Fatafehi 'Alaivahamama'o Tuku'aho
Aho'eitu Tupou VI of Tonga

Names
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

FatherAhomeʻe (Manu-ʻo-pangai)MotherHeuʻifanga Veikune

Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe (29 May 1926 – 19 February 2017)^[1] was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI.^[2]

Biography

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926,^[1] the eldest daughter of the Hon. Tevita Manu-’o-pangai, ‘Ahome’e, sometime Governor of Vava’u and Ha’apai and Minister for Police and his wife, Heuʻifanga Veikune, a great-granddaughter of the Tu'i Tonga.^[1]^[3]^[4] She was also a great-great-granddaughter of Enele Maʻafu.^[4]

Education

She was educated at St Joseph's Convent School, Nuku’alofa, and St Mary's College, in Auckland, New Zealand.^[5]

Marriage

On 10 June 1947, Halaevalu married her distant relative Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau of Tonga^[6] (eldest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga (1900-1965) and Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi).

The Queen Mother celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May.^[3] The celebrations began with a garden party for more than one hundred Tongan women held at the home of the President of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Rev. Dr. ‘Ahio.^[3] The Queen Mother attended a Roman Catholic mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on May 26, 2011.^[3] The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on May 27, with primary school students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts.^[3] A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at the Centennial Church on Sunday, May 29, and a luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa.^[3]

The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the U.S. state of Utah in July and August 2011.^[7] Specifically, the Queen Mother came to visit the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, Utah, whose congregation had raised approximately $500,000 in less than a year to pay off the mortgage on the building.^[7] The Mayor of West Valley City, Michael K. Winder, awarded the Queen Mother the key to the city on July 27, 2011.^[7] She also met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert the next day.^[7]

Death

On 19 February 2017, the Queen Mother died aged 90, which was confirmed by her granddaughter Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho, High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia, a week after she was flown to Auckland, New Zealand, for minor medical issues; the cause of death, however, was not released publicly.

The Queen Mother was flown back to Tonga by the Royal Beechcraft G.18S Aircraft on February 28 flanked by the C-130 Hercules of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, after lying-in-state at the Tongan royal residence, 'Atalanga in Epsom, Auckland.

Honours

National

Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Pouono^[8]^[9]^[10]
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown^[11]
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross of the Order Order of Sālote Tupou III^[12]
Tonga: Dame of the King George Tupou V Royal Family Order^[13]
Tonga: Recipient of the Red Cross Medal^[13]
Tonga: Recipient of the King Tupou VI Coronation Medal^[13]
Tonga: Recipient of the King George Tupou V Coronation Medal^[13]
Tonga: Recipient of the King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Silver Jubilee Medal^[13]

Foreign

Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Special Class^[14]
Japan: Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown^[15]
Taiwan: Grand Cross of the Order of Propitious Clouds^[16]
United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal^[13]
United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal^[13]

Ancestry

See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...

Ancestors of Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

16. Tupou Tevita ʻAhomeʻe

8. Taniela ʻOtukolo ʻAhomeʻe

17. Lavinia Longoaʻameʻe

4. Solomone Piutau ʻOtukolo ʻAhomeʻe

18. ʻAisea Vau Mataele

9. Siulolovau Vaea

19. ʻIlaisipa Tuʻionetoa

2. Tēvita Manuopangai ʻAhomeʻe

20. Sūnia Mafileʻo

10. Viliami Maealiuaki Mafileʻo

21. Losaline Mafikaunanga

5. ʻAmelia Moʻungaʻaelangi Maealiuaki

22. George Alexander Blake

11. Maʻata Peleki (Martha Blake)

23. Matelita Fusilangoia Tangulu

1. Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe^{[citation needed]}

24. ʻOsaiasi Tonga Veikune

12. Siosāteki Tonga Veikune

25. Temaleti Manakovi

6. Fotu ʻa Falefā Veikune

26. Taumoepeau

13. ʻAkanesi Tuʻifua

27. Tupoutuʻa Laumanukilupe

3. Heuʻifanga Veikune

28. ʻEnele Maʻafu

14. Siale ʻAtaongo

29. ʻElenoa Ngataialupe Lutui

7. Vāhoi ʻAtaongo

30. ʻIsileli Tupou

15. Tupou Moheofo

31. Lavinia Veiongo Mahanga

Family tree

Tupou family tree

Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua line

Tuʻi Tonga line

Tuʻi Kanokupolu line

Kalolaine Fusimatalili

George Tupou I

Fīnau Kaunanga

Fifita Vavʻau

Tēvita ʻUnga

Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu

Filiaipulotu

Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku

Fatafehi Toutaitokotaha

Lavinia Veiongo

George Tupou II

ʻAnaseini Takipō

Viliami Tungī Mailefihi

Sālote Tupou III

Vīlai Tupou (illegitimate son)

Tupou Seini

Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV

Halaevalu Mataʻaho
ʻAhomeʻe

Siaosi 'Alipate Tupou, Baron Vaea

Tuputupu Ma'afu-'o-Tukuialahi

George Tupou V

Tupou VI

Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho

Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala

Sinaitakala Fakafanua

Taufaʻahau Manumataongo

Reference:

Fox, James J.; Sather, Clifford (1996). Origins, Ancestry and Alliance: Explorations in Austronesian Ethnography. Canberra: Department of Anthropology, Australian National University. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7315-2432-7. OCLC 245762652.
Kaeppler, Adrienne Lois; D.C. (2008). The Pacific Arts of Polynesia and Micronesia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-19-284238-1. OCLC 236158882.
Völkel, Svenja (2010). Social Structure, Space and Possession in Tongan Culture and Language: An Ethnolinguistic Study. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-90-272-0283-3.
Wood-Ellem, Elizabeth (1999). Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900-1965. Auckland, N.Z: Auckland University Press. p. front. ISBN 978-0-8248-2529-4. OCLC 262293605.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "A week of celebration underway for the Queen's 85th Birthday". Ministry of Information and Communications. 2011-05-25. Archived from the original on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
^ Reigning Royal Families: Tonga International Who's Who, retrieved 6 January 2011
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Queen Mother celebrates 85th birthday". Taimi Media Network. 2011-05-31. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
^ ^a ^b "The Royal Family". Tongan Royal Family. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
^ "Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhome'e, the Queen Mother of Tonga". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ "DOUBLE WEDDING OF TONGAN PRINCES". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XVII, no. 12. 18 July 1947. p. 13. Retrieved 18 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Farmer, Molly (2011-07-30). "Queen Mother of Tonga celebrates with West Valley congregation". Deseret News. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
^ Andrew Cusack
^ Coronation of King Tupou VI
^ Getty Images
^ "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ gpdhome
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Congratulations Queen Mother". Nuku'alofa Times. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2022 – via Issu.
^ "Mic.gov.to". Archived from the original on 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
^ wearing the order badge on her left breast
^ "Rest in Peace: Queen Mother is no more". Nuku'alofa Times. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2022 – via Issu.

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe House of Tupou Born: 29 May 1926 Died: 19 February 2017
Preceded by Viliami Tungī Mailefihi as prince consort	Queen consort of Tonga 1965 – 2006	Vacant Title next held by Nanasipauʻu Vaea