Monarch

However, the usually Rarotonga-based Pa Ariki was stranded in New Zealand due to Covid-19 restrictions so a formal event took place in Auckland.

Pa Ariki's son and representative Tupeariki Rangatira said he watched the celebrations from Rarotonga via webcam.

He said the Takitimu Hall at Mangere Bridge was full of dignitaries from Aotearoa and the Cook Islands including the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio and New Zealand's Cook Island MPs Alfred Ngaro and Poto Williams.

Beyond the formalities, he said it was full of dance and song.

In her PhD thesis, Democratisation in Asia – Pacific Monarchies , former New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga, Christine Bogle, said the king had hoped to see the first election under the new system come up with a commoner as Prime Minister, presumably to give additional legitimacy and democratic credentials to the reforms.

She described the Tu’ivakanō and successive Pōhiva governments as “lacklustre” and subject to unsuccessful attempts at a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister.