Tongan Queen Mother’s Body Arrives Back In Homeland

The body of Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata’aho of Tonga has arrived back in the country aboard a Royal New Zealand Airforce Hercules aircraft today, greeted at the Fuaʻamotu International Airport by members of the Royal Family led by her grandson, Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala.

Her casket was then taken to the Royal Palace via car, passing by hundreds of local school children who lined the streets of the capital to pay their respects to the late Queen. This evening, Tongan time, a ring of fires – the tradition known as the Takipo – were lit around the perimeter of the Royal Palace by members of the public, “to provide light” for the deceased.

Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata’aho passed away on February 19 in an Auckland hospital. Her daughter, Princess Salote Pilolevu Tuita, said yesterday that the Queen Mother’s death was “a shock because we did not realise that she was going to leave us so soon”, calling her mother the “backbone” of the family.

Her Majesty will be laid to rest on Wednesday at Tonga’s Royal Tombs, the Mala’ekula.

Filed under Tonga
Tagged Death, Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe of Tonga.

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