Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (29 May 1926 – 19 February 2017) was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of kings George Tupou V and Tupou VI.
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Early life and education
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926, the eldest daughter of the Hon. Tevita Manu-’o-pangai, ‘Ahome’e, sometime Governor of Vava’u and Ha’apai and Minister for Police and his wife, Heuʻifanga Veikune, a great-granddaughter of the Tu'i Tonga. She was also a great-great-granddaughter of Enele Maʻafu.
She was educated at St Joseph's Convent School, Nuku’alofa, and St Mary's College, in Auckland, New Zealand.
Marriage
On 10 June 1947, Halaevalu married her distant relative Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau of Tonga (eldest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga (1900–1965) and Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi).
Queen Mother
As Queen Mother, Halaevalu celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May. The celebrations began with a garden party for more than one hundred Tongan women held at the home of the President of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Rev. Dr. ‘Ahio. The Queen Mother attended a Roman Catholic mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on 26 May 2011. The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on 27 May, with primary school students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts. A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at the Centennial Church on Sunday 29 May, and a luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa.
The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the U.S. state of Utah in July and August 2011. Specifically, she came to visit the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, Utah, whose congregation had raised approximately $500,000 in less than a year to pay off the mortgage on the building. The Mayor of West Valley City, Michael K. Winder, awarded her the key to the city on 27 July 2011. She also met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert the next day.
Death
Halaevalu died aged 90 on 19 February 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand, a week after leaving Tonga. Her granddaughter Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho, High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia, was reportedly by her bedside when she died. Her remains were flown back to Tonga on 28 February, after lying-in-state at the Tongan royal residence, ʻAtalanga in Epsom, Auckland. The date of her funeral on 1 March was declared a public holiday by the Tongan government, which also observed ten days of mourning.
Honours
National
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Pouono
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown
Tonga: Knight Grand Cross of the Order Order of Sālote Tupou III
Tonga: Dame of the King George Tupou V Royal Family Order
Tonga: Recipient of the Red Cross Medal
Tonga: Recipient of the King Tupou VI Coronation Medal
Tonga: Recipient of the King George Tupou V Coronation Medal
Tonga: Recipient of the King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Silver Jubilee Medal
Foreign
Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Special Class
Japan: Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
Taiwan: Grand Cross of the Order of Propitious Clouds
United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal