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Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe
Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (29 May 1926 – 19 February 2017)[1] was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI.[2]
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Biography
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926,[1] the eldest daughter of the Hon. Tevita Manu-’o-pangai, ‘Ahome’e, sometime Governor of Vava’u and Ha’apai and Minister for Police and his wife, Heuʻifanga Veikune, a great-granddaughter of the Tu'i Tonga.[1][3][4] She was also a great-great-granddaughter of Enele Maʻafu.[4]
Education
She was educated at St Joseph's Convent School, Nuku’alofa, and St Mary's College, in Auckland, New Zealand.[5]
Marriage
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On 10 June 1947, Halaevalu married her distant relative Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau of Tonga[6] (eldest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga (1900-1965) and Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi).
The Queen Mother celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May.[3] The celebrations began with a garden party for more than one hundred Tongan women held at the home of the President of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Rev. Dr. ‘Ahio.[3] The Queen Mother attended a Roman Catholic mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on 26 May 2011.[3] The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on 27 May, with primary school students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts.[3] A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at the Centennial Church on Sunday 29 May, and a luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa.[3]
The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the U.S. state of Utah in July and August 2011.[7] Specifically, the Queen Mother came to visit the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, Utah, whose congregation had raised approximately $500,000 in less than a year to pay off the mortgage on the building.[7] The Mayor of West Valley City, Michael K. Winder, awarded the Queen Mother the key to the city on July 27, 2011.[7] She also met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert the next day.[7]
Death
On 19 February 2017, the Queen Mother died aged 90 in Auckland, New Zealand, a week after leaving Tonga. Her granddaughter Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho, High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia, was reportedly by her bedside when she died.[8][9]

The Queen Mother's remains were flown back to Tonga on 28 February, after lying-in-state at the Tongan royal residence, ʻAtalanga in Epsom, Auckland. The date of her funeral on 1 March was declared a public holiday by the Tongan government, which also observed ten days of mourning.[10][11][12]
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Honours
National
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Pouono[13][14][15]
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown[16]
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross of the Order Order of Sālote Tupou III[17]
Tonga: Dame of the King George Tupou V Royal Family Order[18]
Tonga: Recipient of the Red Cross Medal[18]
Tonga: Recipient of the King Tupou VI Coronation Medal[18]
Tonga: Recipient of the King George Tupou V Coronation Medal[18]
Tonga: Recipient of the King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Silver Jubilee Medal[18]
Foreign
Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Special Class[19]
Japan: Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown[20]
Taiwan: Grand Cross of the Order of Propitious Clouds[21]
United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal[18]
United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal[18]
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Ancestry
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See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...
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References
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