With the sudden death of His Majesty King Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (George) Tupou V of Tonga some are wondering how the king’s heir and brother, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka Ata, “… will cope as the head of the Tongan monarchy.”
One News/TV New Zealand has a special report about the future of the Tongan monarchy.
On March 19, 2012, Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain attended a celebration to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution Cádiz of 1812.
Today’s event took place at the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri in front of hundreds of important dignitaries such as the President of the Congress of Deputies, Mr. Jesus Posada, the President of the Senate, Mr. Pius García-Escudero, the President of the Constitutional Court, Mr. Pascual Sala and the Chairman of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary, Mr. Carlos Dívar.
Once inside the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, His Majesty gave a speech noting:
We commemorate today the bicentenary of the first Spanish Constitution, a reference essential for the unity, sovereignty and freedom of our compatriots, and one of the most important episodes in the history of our country.
Afterward, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia made their way outside to the Cádiz square whereupon they placed a giant wreath at the monument of the Cádiz Cortes.
On March 19, 2012, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge inaugurated The Treehouse hospice in Ipswich, England.
The duchess was warmly greeted by hundreds of well wishers and local dignitaries as she arrived. Soon, she was ushered into the new building where she was given a tour of the facility where she meet with the hospice staff and patients. Afterward, she gave a lovely speech then planted a tree on the grounds of the new hospice.
Click the links below to watch videos, read articles and to view photos.
On March 12, 2012, the Wall Street Journal published an interesting article about Her Royal Highness Princess Abigail Kawananakoa entitled, “Lunching with one of Hawaii’s Real ‘Descendants'”, by Julia Flynn Siler.
Ms. Siler recently published the book, “Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure”.
With the recent death of His Majesty King Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (George) Tupou V of Tonga I thought I would post a video about the history of the Tongan monarchy. The above video is a good introduction… so enjoy. 🙂
On March 17, 2012, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands attended the première of the play, Ongezien, in Wolfheze, on the “… occasion of the 100th anniversary of Het Schild, a center for the blind and visually impaired elderly.”
Meanwhile, it was recently announced that Their Royal Highnesses Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands will attend a memorial service in Lommel, Belgium on March 21, 2012, for the victims of last week’s bus crash in a Swiss tunnel. Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, will also attend the service.
His Majesty King Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (George) Tupou V of Tonga has died in Hong Kong on Sunday. The newspaper, Matangi Tonga Online who broke the story, claims His Majesty “… was rushed to hospital early this afternoon but it is understood that he had passed away a few hours later.”
According to AFP News there has been no confirmation or comments from “…Tongan authorities nor palace officials…” at this hour. However, a “…statement was expected following Monday’s cabinet meeting.”
The last major public appearance by His Majesty was on February 24, 2012, when he met with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Click here to watch a view news report about his visit.
To read the original report about His Majesty’s passing from Matangi Tonga Online please click here.
UPDATE:
The prime minister of Tonga, Lord Siale’ataonga Tu’ivakano, has officially confirmed the death of His Majesty King Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (George) Tupou V. The king died in a Hong Kong hospital with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka by his bedside.
With the sudden death of His Majesty King Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (George) Tupou V of Tonga some are wondering how the king’s heir and brother, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka Ata, “… will cope as the head of the Tongan monarchy.” 
The Royal Correspondent 