Amid pealing bells, booming cannons, balloons and cheering children, Tonga crowned its new king on Friday.
King George Tupou V became the small South Pacific nation's 23rd
monarch in a British-styled church ceremony, before a congregation
of 1,000 that included Tongan, British, Japanese and Thai royalty,
as well as South Pacific chiefs and heads of state.
Tonga is an archipelago of 170 coral islands, 36 of them inhabited,
about 2,000 km north of New Zealand.
The 60-year-old bachelor, dressed in a scarlet velvet and ermine
trimmed robe, sat on a 2.5 metre (8 feet) high gilt throne
specially built in China, as a massed choir sang Handel's
coronation anthem, Zadok The Priest.
The king took his oath of kingship in Tongan and was anointed with
holy oil before receiving the symbols of office -- a ring, sceptre,
and crown.
The Archbishop of Polynesia James Bryce enjoined the new king to
rule "wisely, justly and truly".
"Stand firm and hold fast from henceforth the seat and state of
royal and imperial dignity, which is this day delivered unto you,"
he said.
The king had travelled to the century-old church in an open topped
limousine along roads covered with traditional mats with hundreds
of seated children waving balloons and Tongan flags.
The investiture was the culmination of a week of festivities that
have included a traditional Tongan coronation ceremony, Taumafa
Kava, in which the new king took the first drink of kava, a mildly
narcotic drink made from crushed kava root, signifying he was the
first Tongan.
The festivities have cost an estimated $2.7 million, with the royal
robes from a Saville Row tailor in London.
Guests included Britain's Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Crown
Prince and Crown Princess of Japan, and Princess Sirindhorn of
Thailand.
There were also many South Pacific royals, including the Maori King
from New Zealand, an Hawaiian princess, Samoan and Fijian royalty,
and nobility from island nations.
The capital Nuku'alofa has been decorated with ceremonial arches,
bunting and streamers, and entertained with brass bands and
firework displays.
Tonga is the South Pacific's last monarchy, where the royal family
has controlled a semi-feudal political system and appointed the
cabinet.
Violent protests erupted in Tonga in 2006, in which eight people
were killed and much of the island nation's businesses destroyed,
as people demanded political reforms.
In April 2008, Tongans voted pro-democracy lawmakers into
parliament, with some of those elected still facing sedition
charges for the 2006 riots.
Tonga's new king has said he will relinquish his political powers
and act more like the British constitutional monarchy. A commission
to look at electoral reform has been established.
Before ascending to the throne, as the crown prince, Tupou had a reputation as an eccentric playboy, with his London taxi, elaborate military uniforms and monocle.
