Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala | |||||
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Crown Prince of Tonga | |||||
Tupoutoʻa at the final day of the festivities of his parents coronation
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Born |
Nukuʻalofa |
17 September 1985 ||||
Spouse | Princess Sinaitakala | ||||
Issue |
Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Halaevalu Mataʻaho |
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House | House of Tupou | ||||
Father | Tupou VI | ||||
Mother | Nanasipau'u | ||||
Religion | Methodism |
Full name | |
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Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho |
Royal Family of Tonga |
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Extended royal family
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Styles of Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa of Tonga |
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Reference style | His Royal Highness |
Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
Alternative style | Sire |
Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho (born 17 September 1985) is the crown prince of Tonga. Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala became heir apparent to the throne in March 2012 upon the accession of his father, Tupou VI, as King of Tonga.
On 12 July 2012, Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala married his double second cousin, Sinaitakala Fakafanua, in a wedding attended by 2,000 people. The Crown Prince was 26 years old at the time, while his wife was 25 years old. Sinaitakala Fakafanua is 26th in line to the Tongan throne.
The wedding marked the first marriage of a Tongan Crown Prince in sixty-five years. The ceremony was held at the Centennial Church of the Free Church of Tonga in Nuku'alofa, with more than 2,000 guests, including Samoan and Fijian chiefly families. The groom wore a three piece grey and black suit, while the bride wore a long sleeve, lace wedding gown with a veil that reached the floor of the church. A Maʻutohi ceremony, which celebrates the issuance of a marriage license, was held earlier in the week.
The marriage between the Crown Prince and Fakafanua caused controversy over the continued practice of marrying closely related cousins. Tongan royal protocol requires that members of royal family only marry members of noble families to maintain a 'strong' bloodline. All royal marriages are arranged.
The wedding between the cousins was openly criticised by a few members of Tongan political and royal circles. Two prominent members of the Tongan royal family, Queen Mother Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe and the king's sister, Princess Salote Pilolevu Tuita, disapproved of the marriage and refused to attend the ceremony. Daughter of the Princess Royal of Tonga, Frederica Tuita, who is ninth in line to the throne, openly condemned the union, calling the royal arranged marriage "extremely arrogant and only perpetuated the motive behind social climbers". Pro-democracy leader ʻAkilisi Pohiva also criticised the wedding, telling TVNZ, "They are too close... I do not know about biological effects of two close bloods mixed together, but I think they need new blood from outside." A leader of Tongans living in New Zealand, Will Ilolahia, stated that many Tongans opposed the second cousins' marriage, but were unwilling to speak out publicly.