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Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala

Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Crown Prince of Tonga
Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala at the festivities of his parents coronation.jpg
Tupoutoʻa at the final day of the festivities of his parents coronation
Born (1985-09-17) 17 September 1985 (age 31)
Nukuʻalofa
Spouse Princess Sinaitakala
Issue Taufaʻahau Manumataongo
Halaevalu Mataʻaho
Full name
Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho
House House of Tupou
Father Tupou VI
Mother Nanasipau'u
Religion Methodism
Full name
Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho
Royal Family of Tonga
Royal Arms of Tonga

Styles of
Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa of Tonga
Coat of arms of Tonga.svg
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.


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