From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 16, no. 3, December 2001.

Tonga’s line of succession to the throne has not changed significantly in recent years.

Tu‘ivanuavou Vaea, the head of the Tonga Traditional Committee was adamant that the adoption, in the Tongan sense of the word, by Crown Prince Tupouto‘a of the eldest daughter of his younger brother Prince ‘Ulukalala, and the adoption by Princess Pilolevu of one of the sons of her brother, Hon. Ma‘atu does not change Tonga’s rule of succession.

Vou explained that legally legitimate children cannot be legally adopted under the Tongan law, “and even if, for example, Crown Prince Tupouto‘a adopted Princess Latufuipeka, it will still not alter the line of succession because the heir to titles in Tonga run through the males.”

The other Royal adoption, by Princess Pilolevu of Sione Ika Mafana, the son of the Hon. Ma‘atu, her brother, will also not alter the line of succession, “because she can’t legally adopt Sione Ika Mafana.

“The only major change in the line of succession to the Tongan throne is of Prince ‘Uluvalu who became Prince Tu‘ipelehake and moved up from No. 12 to No. 11, and everyone else below him moved up one step.”

Prince Tu‘ipelehake is the eldest son of the late Prince Fatafehi Tu‘ipelehake, a brother of the King who died in 1999.

The line of succession to the Tongan throne has been reduced because the former Prince ‘Alaivahamama‘o and Prince Mailefihi gave up their places in the line to the Tongan throne so that they could marry the girl of their choice.

Princess Siu‘ilikutapu who is No. 12 in line to the Tongan throne, nearly lost her place after she married a policeman, Siosiua Liava‘a, in Auckland, New Zealand. This marriage made headline news during the late 1960s when it was annulled by the King, and brought Princess Siu‘ilikutapu back to Tonga, where she eventually married the Nobleman Kalaniuvalu Fotofili.