The Crown Prince of Tonga is the heir to the throne of Tonga.
The Article 32 of the Constitution of Tonga provides for male-preference primogeniture, meaning that the eldest son of the King automatically succeeds to the crown upon the monarch's death, and that the eldest daughter may succeed to the crown only if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. By convention, the heir to the throne also bears the noble title of Tupoutoʻa; this has been the case since then-crown prince Tāufaʻāhau was conferred with the title in the late 1930s.
The current Crown Prince of Tonga is Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala, who became heir apparent to the throne on 18 March 2012 upon the accession of his father, Tupou VI, as King.
Succession to George Tupou I The long reign of King George Tupou I (), the first constitutional monarch of Tonga, saw six different heirs apparent to the Tongan throne. The only legitimate son of the King, Vuna Takitakimālohi, died unmarried in January 1862, leaving the King without an heir. The succession would remain vacant for thirteen years until the promulgation of the Constitution of Tonga in 1875, which legitimized Vuna's half-brother Tēvita ʻUnga and named him Crown Prince. By 1889, the King would outlive ʻUnga and all three of his grandchildren – ʻUelingatoni Ngū, Nalesoni Laifone and ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku. That left his great-grandson Tāufaʻāhau, Fusipala's son, as the next Crown Prince, who would succeed his great-grandfather in 1893 as George Tupou II.
Crown Princes of Tonga since 1845 Portrait Name Relation to monarch Birth Became Crown Prince Ceased to be Crown Prince Death Monarch Vuna Takitakimālohi Sole legitimate son 1844 4 December 1845January 1862deceasedGeorge Tupou I Tēvita ʻUnga Son 1824 4 November 187518 December 1879deceased ʻUelingatoni Ngū Grandson 3 August 1854 18 December 187911 March 1885deceased Nalesoni Laifone Grandson 1859 11 March 18856 June 1889deceased ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku Granddaughter 18 May 1850 6 June 1889September 1889deceased Tāufaʻāhau Double great-grandson 18 June 1874 September 1889 18 February 1893acceded to throne as George Tupou II 5 April 1918 Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu Eldest daughter13 March 1900 5 April 1918acceded to throne as Sālote Tupou III 16 December 1965 George Tupou II Tupoutoʻa Tungī Eldest son4 July 1918 16 December 1965acceded to throne as Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV 10 September 2006 Sālote Tupou III Tupoutoʻa Eldest son 4 May 1948 16 December 1965 10 September 2006acceded to throne as George Tupou V 18 March 2012 Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Tupoutoʻa Lavaka Younger brother 12 July 1959 27 September 2006 18 March 2012acceded to throne as Tupou VI Living George Tupou V Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala Eldest son 17 September 1985 18 March 2012 Incumbent Living Tupou VI
Timeline
See also Succession to the Tongan throne
References
Bibliography