Happy Birthday to Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho of Tonga, who turns 70 today! The aristocrat bride who married a third son and became the Queen Consort of the last surviving indigenous Pacific Kingdom, Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho does not have many heirloom jewels, so today, we are featuring her striking Crown!
Previous Queens of Tonga wore a Gold Crown topped with large Stars, which was created in 1899, and worn in turn by Queen Lavinia Veiongo, Queen ‘Anaseini Takipō, and then Queen Sālote Tupou III before passing to Queen Halaevalu Mataʻaho, who wore it for the Coronation in 1968, retaining it in her widowhood, and wore it for the Coronation of King George Tupou V of Tonga in 2008 and the Coronation of King Tupou VI of Tonga in 2015.
A striking gold and silver creation set with pearls, featuring scrolls, leaves and gold fleur-de-lys, as well as a central pearl surrounded by gold and silver petals, topped by a four-leaf clover, echoing the design of the King’s Crown. The creator of the Crown is unknown, but it was no doubt a contemporary creation for the Coronation. It is not known why the Tongan Royal Family decided to commission a new Crown.
In June 2015, Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho was crowned with this Gold Crown during the Coronation of King Tupou VI of Tonga at the Free Wesleyan Church in Nuku’alofa.
Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho continued to wear the Crown through the rest of the Coronation Festivities, which included a Procession through Nuku’alofa and Official Portraits.
Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho does not posses a Tiara and while she has attended a couple of gala events, like the Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, she has chosen not to wear a diadem, even though this Crown is versatile enough to have been used.
If Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho attends the next Coronation, it will be interesting to see if she wears this new Crown and the older Crown will be worn by the new Queen or if it will be vice versa and this Crown is only reserved for the reigning Queen Consort.
What is the significance of the crown worn by Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho of Tonga?