Royal Palace of Tonga

The Royal Palace of Tonga stands in the northwest of Nukuʻalofa, the capital, close to the Pacific Ocean. It is a white wooden palace with a red roof and two levels of verandahs, built in 1867, and it is the official home of the King of Tonga.

The palace is not open to visitors, but it is easy to see from the waterfront. According to the globe card, its parts were prefabricated in New Zealand, meaning they were made there first and shipped over to be put together in Tonga. In February 2017 a vigil with choral singing was held at its fence the night before the queen mother's funeral.

A sacred place

Tongans have deep respect for their royal family, so poets almost never call the palace by its everyday name. Instead they use poetic names, such as Fanga-tapu, meaning "sacred beach", for the shoreline in front of it.

The old stone fence around it, about a meter high, was so sacred that nobody would sit on it. After 1990 King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV had a 3-meter fence put up, and after 2000 iron bars were added to the gates.

Other royal homes

The king and his family have several other palaces to choose from. One is in Fuaʻamotu, and others are at Kauvai, Liukava, Tufumāhina and Vila.

Vila was built in the 1990s by Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa, who lived there after becoming King George Tupou V. There are also palaces on Lifuka in Haʻapai, Vavaʻu and ʻEua, and the king chooses among them.

On the globe

The model shows the white Victorian timber palace with a red roof and two tiers of verandahs, facing the waterfront.