Royal Palace, Tonga

The Royal Palace of the Kingdom of

King of Tonga

. The palace is not open to the public, and it is easily visible from the waterfront.

Overview

In line with the deference Tongans have for the

Royal Family

, poets almost never refer to the palace (pālasi) by name, but use heliaki or allegoric references like: Fanga-tapu ("sacred beach", for the stretch of shoreline fronting the building); Loto-ʻā ("inside the fence"); ʻĀ-maka ("stone fence"); and Hangai Tokelau ("north-wind-against"), the name of a tree near the kitchen, and so forth.

The old, metre-high stone fence was so sacred to the king that none would dare sit on it, let alone cross it. However, after 1990, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV had a 3-metre high grid fence erected. After 2000, some people broke through the gates with trucks, prompting the installation of iron bars to secure the gates.

Other royal residences

The King and royal family have several more palaces to choose from. There is a palace in Fuaʻamotu, as well as Kauvai near Longoteme, Liukava ("revolution") in Kolovai, and both Tufumāhina and Vila (villa) between Koloua and Pea.

Vila was built by Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa in the 1990s, who lived there upon his accession as King

British High Commissioner

.

There is Tauʻakipulu palace on

ʻEua is just north of the harbour in Taʻanga. In the 1980s, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV had a new palace built on a mountaintop near Houma

, but it was unused and by around 1990 only the artistically made bathtub remained, overgrown by weeds and disappearing sometime around 2000.