On 7 January 1922, Queen Sālote Tupou III gave birth to her third son, Prince Sione Ngū Manumataongo. Prince Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi, the future King Tupou IV, had been born in 1918, and Prince Uiliami Tuku‘aho was born in 1919.
Shortly after his birth, Queen Sālote went to New Zealand for several months for a much-needed break. She left Tonga at the end of October with her three sons, three female companions, and attendants to look after her and the children. At 22, Queen Sālote was still quite young, and she had been Queen for six years. She had also been married to Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi for six years. The ten-year-old Princess Fusipala, the Queen’s half-sister, joined them for part of the holiday.
Following their return from New Zealand, the three princes were sent to a woman named Rachel for early instruction and discipline. All three had to be trained as future leaders, but especially the eldest as the future King. They had a strict childhood, and they were disciplined with beatings. Reportedly, the eldest brother never cried, unlike his younger siblings.
After some time with Rachel, the boys were sent to the Wesleyan “European School.” Dorothy Ferguson, who taught the youngest two, later wrote of their spoilt behaviour, “I had to reprimand Prince John [Sione Ngū] for punching another boy in the eye. Smacked his hand (far too softly) and stood him in the corner. He did not worry about.”1 They later also attended Tupou College.
The second brother, Prince Uiliami Tuku‘aho, had been sickly for much of his life. At the end of 1935, he was seriously ill again, and his mother cared for him personally. By April 1536, it was clear that he was dying. It seemed that everyone knew, but it was never spoken out loud. Queen Sālote asked Dr Wood to see her son, and he diagnosed dropsy. On 23 April, 30 pints of fluids were drained. The area around them went quiet – there was no music, and the annual Anzac Day was limited to a brief prayer. The young Prince died on 28 April around 11.30 P.M. After months of caring for her son, Queen Sālote completely broke down. She and her husband went to visit Sydney for rest and a medical check-up.
While the Crown Prince enrolled as a law student at the University of Sydney, Prince Sione Ngū spent three years with a private tutor in Auckland to prepare for his attendance at Newington College in Sydney.
In 1941, Prince Sione Ngū’s father became unwell. On 19 July, he had dinner at the British Residency. The following day, he went to church and had lunch before laying down for a nap. He suffered a heart attack in his sleep. Instead of an official lying-in-state, Queen Sālote had his body brought to her own room in the palace. His body rested there until 22 July and was then brought down so that the final respects could be paid. During this time, both the Crown Prince and Prince Sione Ngū were in Sydney, and they had asked their mother to delay the final ceremonies of the funeral until they were back in Tonga, but they were unable to return home for Christmas. Queen Sālote then decided to go ahead, meaning that the Princes missed the ceremonies.
Prince Sione Ngū’ returned to Tonga in January 1944 after one year at the Gatton Agricultural College in Queensland. Queen Sālote wanted him to spend some time learning Tongan traditions and customs. In the middle of 1944, she appointed him to the position of visiting copra inspector. He was considered to be obedient and good-natured but more outgoing than his elder brother. Both of them enjoyed a Westernised lifestyle.
In September 1944, Prince Sione Ngū was appointed the title of Tuʻipelehake, and he was no longer known as Sione Ngū. He became informally known as Fatafehi and formally as Tuʻipelehake. This was the second highest ranking chiefly title in Tonga, and the following year, the people of the Tuʻipelehake estates brought presentations for their new chief.
Just three years later, both Princes simultaneously announced their betrothals. For Tuʻipelehake, his future wife was Melenaite Tupou Moheofo, who was a great-granddaughter of the last Tu’i Tonga (from a line of Tongan Kings). She was educated at Ravenswood Methodist School for Girls in Sydney. A double wedding was organised so that the people wouldn’t be burdened with the cost of two separate weddings.
The wedding took place over three days, from 10 to 12 June 1947. There was a European ceremony on 10 June and a traditional Tongan ceremony on 12 June. Both couples were married at the Royal Chapel. Queen Sālote was delighted to have daughters at last, and she was especially fond of Melenaite, whom she often took with her, even on extended visits. Her first grandchildren were born the following year as the Crown Prince’s wife, Halaevalu Mataʻaho, gave birth to a son on 4 May 1948, followed by a daughter born to Melenaite on 12 May 1948. Melenaite and Tuʻipelehake went on to have five more children over the years.
Between 1949 and 1952, Tu’ipelehake was the governor of Vava’u, which is the northernmost of the three groups of islands that make up the country. He later also served briefly as Governor of Haʻapai before being appointed as Minister of Health and Lands while his elder brother continued as Minister for Education and Agriculture and Prime Minister.
On 16 December 1965, Queen Sālote died in a hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Tu’ipelehake and his wife were present when she died. The Crown Prince and his wife were en route but arrived too late. The new King was proclaimed in Tonga in his absence, and a six-month mourning period was set. Two days later, the new King and Queen travelled ahead to Tonga while Tu’ipelehake and Melenaite would accompany the body of the late Queen. The funeral took place on 23 December in Tonga. Tu’ipelehake’s title was only second to the new King, and his rank was fully recognised during the following ceremonies. Like the new King, he would be addressed in the royal language that had been reserved for the late Queen, and he would be addressed as “Eiki Hā’ele’ (Royal Chief) and Tu’i Fale Ua (Ruler of the Second House). His brother appointed him as the new Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Education, Agriculture and Works. He remained on as Prime Minister until his health declined in 1991.2
In 1966, he received an honorary CBE in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday list, to which he replied, “The award is very high indeed, yet it was a great surprise to me, as I cannot think of any accomplishment that I have done.”3
Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake died on 10 April 1999 after a long illness.
- Queen Sālote of Tonga by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.68
- Queen Sālote of Tonga by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem p.294
- Obituary: Prince Fatafehi Tu’ipelehake
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