The order of succession to the throne of Tonga is laid down in the 1875 constitution of the south Pacific island nation. This constitution specifies that the succession is confined to the descendants of King Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupou I, through his son Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga and his son Prince Uelingatoni Ngū (all names in modern spelling). Tēvita ʻUnga was an illegitimate son, but all of Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupou's legal sons had died before; at the end both Tēvita ʻUnga and Uelingatoni Ngū also died before him. It also established primogeniture, with male offspring having precedence over females. The Heir Apparent is styled by the title Crown Prince; other sons are styled Prince. All are addressed as "His Royal Highness".
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Article 32 of the constitution (31 December 1988 version) reads:
The right and title of King George Tupou I to the Crown and the Throne of this Kingdom were confirmed by the Constitution of 1875 and it was further declared in the said Constitution that the succession to the Crown and Throne should devolve upon David Uga and then upon Wellington Gu and then upon them begotten by him in marriage and if at any time there be no heirs of Wellington Gu the Crown and Throne shall descend in accordance with the following law of succession:
It shall be lawful only for those born in marriage to succeed.
The succession shall be to the eldest male child and the heirs of his body but if he should have no children to the second male child and the heirs of his body and so on until all the male line shall be ended.
Should there be no male child the eldest female child shall succeed and the heirs of her body and if she should have no children it shall descend to the second female child and the heirs of her body until the female line is ended.
And if there shall be none of this line of David Uga lawful descendants by marriage to succeed to the Crown of Tonga it shall descend to William Tungi and his lawful heirs begotten by him in marriage and to their heirs begotten by them.
And if there should be no lawful heir the King shall appoint his heir if the House of Nobles consent to it (the representatives of the people having no voice in the matter) and he shall be publicly declared heir to the Crown during the King's life.
Should there be no heir to the Crown or successor who has been so publicly proclaimed the Prime Minister or in his absence the Cabinet ministers shall convoke the nobles of the Legislative Assembly (the representatives of the people having no voice in the matter) and when they meet the House of Nobles shall choose by ballot some one of the chiefs whom they wish to succeed as King. And he shall succeed as the first of a new dynasty and he and the heirs of his body born in marriage shall possess the Crown according to law.
And in the event of there being none to succeed according to this law the Prime Minister or in his absence the Cabinet ministers shall again convoke the nobles of the Legislative Assembly in accordance with this law and they shall choose one to succeed to the Throne as the first of a new dynasty and so on according to this law for ever.
A few more articles deal with minor succession issues, the most important one in current times is article 33.(1):
It shall not be lawful for any member of the Royal Family who is likely to succeed to the throne to marry any person without the consent of the King. And if any person should thus marry the consort [the] marriage shall not be considered legal and it shall be lawful for the King to cancel the right of such person and his heirs to succeed to the Crown of Tonga. And the next person in succession to him who so marries shall be declared the heir and the offender shall be regarded as dead.
This article applied to Fatafehi ʻAlaivahamamaʻo Tukuʻaho (later known as Māʻatu), the second son of the then-incumbent king, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, when he married a commoner against the wishes of his father. He and all his issue were consequently forever removed from the list.[1] It was also threatened to apply on Mele Siuʻilikutapu Tukuʻaho, the king's niece, when she ran off with Josh Liavaʻa.[2]
Due to George Tupou I's longevity, he was eventually succeeded by his great grandson, styled George Tupou II, in 1893. He was succeeded in 1918 by his eldest surviving daughter, Queen Salote (Salote Tupou III), who married the only heir of the above mentioned Viliami (William) Tungī. She in turn was succeeded by her son Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 1965. Finally, as for now, the latter was succeeded by George Tupou V, sworn in on 11 September 2006. As the current king has no legal heir the next in line are his youngest brother and his heirs.
The current line of succession is as follows:
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