New Order for Tonga

[Megan]

John Duncan McMeekin has sent me a whole bunch of images to add to this thread.

First up, a photo of King George Tupou II:

[Megan]

Next, a picture of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV:

And what John describes as "the first ever photo I saw of King George Tupou II":

[Megan]

And there's more

The late King George Tupou V:

H.M. King Tupou VI (he only takes a reigning name when he is crowned):

Tongan Cross of Merit 1st & 2nd Classes - about which John says "Under each reign a different Ribbon is issued, King T. Tupou IV was the last king seen to wear this cross, one issued under his reign & one under his mother's reign - Queen Salote Tupou III."

[Megan]

John has also sent this image of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II wearing The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III:

He's also sent a document with all sorts of other information about matters Tongan, which I am sifting through.

[Megan]

More from John!

Ko e Fakalangilangi'api Faku Tu'i

(The Most Devoted Royal Household Order of Tonga) 2009

Grand Officer's Star, (G.O.R.H.)

Ko e Fakalangilangi 'o Kingi Sia'osi Tupou I

(The Royal Order of King George Tupou I) Inst. between 1876 & 1890

Knight Grand Cross (K.G.C.G.T.) formerly Knight Grand Commander

Knight Commander (7 pointed star) now obsolete

Companion, now obsolete

Ko e Fakalangilangi Fekau Fakka Fale 'Alo Faka Tu'i Kingi Sia'osi Tupou V

(The King George Tupou V Royal Family Order) Inst. 2008

(R.F.O.) - on the pale blue ribbon

[922F]

Current awards designed by P. Eagleton & supplied by Worth.

[ilja559]

Some photo

[Dragomir]

If I am not wrong, this is not a new order, but the Tongan Coronation Medal, and the photo stands for Istvan Doma-Miko, Hungarian painter of the Royal family of Tonga.

 Dragomir

[Megan]

More from John Duncan McMeekin...

This is

His Majesty, King Tupou VI  (no Christian name), who is wearing the following:

THE  COLLAR: Knight Grand Cross, The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III

The Collar (note, the King has altered the insignia of replacing the Knight Grand Cross insignia (using a red riband) with that of the Grand Cross insignia (using a blue riband)..

3 BREAST  STARS

1. The (new) Knight Grand Cross Star (with the blue riband) of the Most Illust. Order of Queen Salote Tupou III.

2.  Grand Cross,  The Most Devoted Royal Household Order of Tonga - Note: this is a new G.C. as the central medallion is all gold with the embossed National Coat of Arms of Tonga (made in Singapore).

3. Supreme Class,  The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu of the Maori King, Arikinui Tuheitia Paki  (Inst. 21st August, 2014).

NECK  BADGE: Grand Officer's neck badger, Royal Household Order on a 37mm ribbon.

[James Hoard]

On ‎27‎/‎05‎/‎2013‎ ‎20‎:‎26‎:‎37, Megan said:

And what John describes as "the first ever photo I saw of King George Tupou II":

 

 

 

 

This is actually not a Tongan order at all. It is the sash (without star and badge) of the Order of the Red Eagle 1st class of Prussia. The decoration was conferred on his great-grandfather. Presumably the sash was all that was left and found hanging around in the palace.

The white and read have been assumed.

 

 

Edited December 3, 2015 by James Hoard

[peter monahan]

"THE  COLLAR: Knight Grand Cross, The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III: The Collar (note, the King has altered... "

It's good to be King!

 

[James Hoard]

On ‎01‎/‎12‎/‎2015‎ ‎21‎:‎58‎:‎08, Megan said:

More from John Duncan McMeekin...

This is

His Majesty, King Tupou VI  (no Christian name), who is wearing the following:

THE  COLLAR: Knight Grand Cross, The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III

The Collar (note, the King has altered the insignia of replacing the Knight Grand Cross insignia (using a red riband) with that of the Grand Cross insignia (using a blue riband)..

3 BREAST  STARS

1. The (new) Knight Grand Cross Star (with the blue riband) of the Most Illust. Order of Queen Salote Tupou III.

2.  Grand Cross,  The Most Devoted Royal Household Order of Tonga - Note: this is a new G.C. as the central medallion is all gold with the embossed National Coat of Arms of Tonga (made in Singapore).

3. Supreme Class,  The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu of the Maori King, Arikinui Tuheitia Paki  (Inst. 21st August, 2014).

NECK  BADGE: Grand Officer's neck badger, Royal Household Order on a 37mm ribbon.

This information isn't quite correct.

Nothing has been changed with regard to the order of Queen Salote III. The ribbon was always plain blue from the beginning. Please see the earlier post with the stamp sheet featuring Queen Elizabeth II wearing the order.

The only thing that has been changed is the Grand Cross star of the Royal Household Order. Probably due to the transfer of production from worth to ELM (Eng Leong Medallic Industries Pte Ltd) in Singapore. I am not even sure there was a change in the manufactured design since the present King was invested with the GC during the previous reign. Perhaps the Worth proposed design was already changed when it came to be first manufactured.

Much of the information we have on the Tongan orders needs revision. Even the articles published in learned journals, such as JOMSA (Vol 37, 1-2, 1986) and Medal Collector are incorrect. At least those parts of them based on the two articles that appeared in Pacific Islands Monthly in 1942 and 1949, which were in turn based upon information supplies by one F. Theodore Goedicke. The latter gives different dates in the two articles, mistaken names of people, fanciful descriptions of well known orders like SS Maurice & Lazarus of Italy and the "Star of Morocco" (presumably Sharifan Order of Alawi). Then compounds further with a photograph of himself wearing the insignia of one Tongan order, on a ribbon of another, to which he attaches the name of a third. If one has a look at some of the other articles he contributed to in Pacific Islands Monthly, Goedicke comes across as something of a fantasist, claiming to be a friend of Bismark, instrumental in the annexation of German New Guinea, and titled himself a Dutch Count. Consequently, the Order of the Crown which he says was instituted on his recommendation in 1913, now appears to have existed from at least 1904 and probably founded in 1896.

More to follow in due course.

Cheers.

 

 

 

[James Hoard]

Some further tentative observations on Tongan orders as follows.

The following picture of King George Tupou II dated ca 1909 (there is an earlier one from about 1904, but it does not show the sash badge).

Collar and collar badge: A white enamelled Maltese cross with sword hilts between the arms, a red enamelled circlet, and a crown suspension. Collar composed of a gold chain with 6-pointed stars and doves of peace. The Order of Pouono.

Breast stars:

1 - A seven-armed, gold breast star with red enamelled circler containing the motto - The Order of Pouono.

2 & 3 - Two 4-pointed stars with blue enamelled circled containing the motto. Identical or near identical (perhaps first as well as second class) of the Order of the Crown (note, not the "Order of the Crown of Tonga", not "Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga", nor "Royal Order of the Crown"). Closely modelled on the Prussian Order of the Crown, which had been bestowed on the King's late grandfather Crown Prince Tevida 'Unga in 1877.

4 - A 6-pointed gold star with a white enamelled Maltese cross with small points in the centre of the arms of the cross, with red enamelled circled containing the motto. The name of this order is uncertain, but I am provisionally calling this "the Order of the Cross of Tonga" for now.

Sash and sash badge: A 6-pointed gold star with a white enamelled Greek cross -  "the Order of the Cross of Tonga" for now.

Neck badge: Green enamelled gold Maltese cross with green enamelled leaves between the arms - unknown name, probably a stand alone decoration unrelated to the other orders mentioned.

Chest badges:

1 - 4th class of the Order of the Crown - miniature white-enamelled Greek cross with a red enamelled circled containing the motto, on a red ribbon with narrow white edge-stripes on a "Russian" style ribbon mounting.

2 & 3 - probably junior classes of the provisionally entitled "Order of the Cross of Tonga".

Note: at this time we also know of the existence of a further order, the Royal Order of King George Tupou I which had been instituted in the previous reign, but the insignia of that order are not worn in this picture. Very similar in shape and design to the Persian Order of the Lion and Sun.

[Megan]

Excellent, excellent... John Duncan McMeekin - who sent me the above photo and text to be posted here (for some reason he doesn't care to post for himself so gets the local geek to do it for him!) - says he's working on a full listing of Tongan medals. I'm sure this will all be very helpful

[James Hoard]

Hello Megan,

It is just amazing how much misinformation there is out there. Even those who have actually received Tongan decorations seem to have put out dubious information.

C. Neville Packett's decorations are for sale at Tennants Auctioneers. He had explained that his Tongan orders were the "Order of the Crown" and the "Order of King George Tupou "I. While the pictures confirm the King George Tupou V modified version of the Order of the Crown, the other order does not seem to tally with the name. Looking closely at the pictures, we obviously have a different set of insignia to the Order of King George Tupou I or, indeed, any other decoration previously seen from Tonga. The breast star has a passing resemblance to the OKGTI, but it is much squarer in shape, flat rather than concave, and also made from different materials. Even if one were to be kind and ascribe the differences in the appearance of the star due to a different manufacturer, the rest of the insignia very obviously do not belong to the OKGTI. The OKGTI does not have a collar, the riband is of a different colour as well as arrangement of colours, a different sash badge and miniature. I have isolated the relevant insignia in the Tennant's picture below:

A closer view of the collar and riband appear here http://c0728562.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/MI3123_HR_3.jpg

http://www.tennants.co.uk/Catalogue/Lots/224617.aspx

My view is that this may be the Order of the Tongan Star, which was created by Queen Salote Tupou III in 1956.

Cheers.

PS: I believe that John is discussing these matters with Christopher Buyers, and much of the actual information comes from him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[922F]

Shame to have missed Tennants' sale!!   

[Worth Geneva]

On April 15, 2009 at 12:04, James Hoard said:

On August 6, 2008 at 07:33, James Hoard said:

Although that picture may be new on the website, it actually dates from the time the present King was still Crown Prince. Consequently, he is wearing the sash and breast star of the most junior of the Tongan orders, the Order of King George Tupou I (he then only had the second class of the other orders). I gather that the order is more or less in the lapsed category. No awards were made in the recent Coronation list and no awards have been made at all since 1969.

King George Tupou V established another new order in Tonga during 2008.

happy to provide details as I designed all the new Orders and Medals in 2008-2009 for King George.

 

worthinternationaloffice@gmail.com

 

 

On April 15, 2009 at 12:04, James Hoard said:

 

It is a Royal Family Order, very similar to those of that name in the UK and other European realms, conferred almost exclusively on female members of the Tongan Royal Family. The insignia consist of an oval miniature portrait of the king in white tropical naval uniform, without cap, wearing orders and medals, against a background of green palms and open sky. The miniature is surrounded by a border of cut-diamonds, with a silver and enamel crown and suspension device at the top. The badge is worn from a bow of mint-green watered silk on the left shoulder.

 

I designed this for HM with a "Mint Green moire" ribbon and delivered it to him in Tonga circa 2009. He intended to give this to female relatives. This one was given to Princess "Mary" Mele - his cousin. 

Philip Eagleton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On April 15, 2009 at 12:04, James Hoard said:

Cheers

James

 

On May 27, 2013 at 12:23, Megan said:

John Duncan McMeekin has sent me a whole bunch of images to add to this thread.

 

First up, a photo of King George Tupou II:

 

 

1 minute ago, Worth Geneva said:

 

worthinternationaloffice@gmail.com

 

 

Philip Eagleton

King George Tupou V instructed to me in January 2008 that all of the Orders prior to that year were to be "ditched" and an entire new system of honors inaugurated which is what I did both for his coronation that year and subsequently.

 

1 minute ago, Worth Geneva said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trooper_D]

7 hours ago, Worth Geneva said:

worthinternationaloffice@gmail.com

Philip Eagleton

King George Tupou V instructed to me in January 2008 that all of the Orders prior to that year were to be "ditched" and an entire new system of honors inaugurated which is what I did both for his coronation that year and subsequently.

Thanks for your post, Philip.

Perhaps you or a moderator could reformat it as it is a bit confusing (to me, anyway) as it currently is. Some of your comments are contained in quotes from previous posts, I think.

[Worth Geneva]

I was asked to design six new Orders, to replace the pre-2008 system of awards. These Orders were then phased in for the coronation of August 2008 and the subsequent Honours List for 2009 with the final two Orders in process in 2011-2012. Also included is the Gallantry Cross, civil and military, a DSC and other medals as well as new effigies for the existing TDF medals - the MSM, GSM, LSGC.

 

The Orders approved by the late king are:

 

Order of Queen Salote III.

Order of the Crown.

Military Order of St. George.

Household Order.

Diplomatic Order.

Order of Oceania.

 

A Royal Family Order - for royal ladies - was inaugurated.

 

Images for most of these Orders I provided to Christopher Buyers for his royal ark.net website.

 

King George also wanted an Order to symbolize the "rebirth" of Tonga after the 2006 riots and for this we designed the Order of the Phoenix. However, the late king rejected the design with an orange sash and the later prototype.

 

Three levels of medals were also attached to the third and fourth Orders - St George and Household Orders.

 

Financial criteria impacted phasing in the entire program for the Coronation in 2008 - so we phased them in over five years. The fifth and sixth Orders - one Grand Cross of each was delivered to Nuku'alofa in 2011 of which the Oceania was later sent to Fiji to be presented to a VIP there. 

 

As I recall we minted about 1,500 Coronation Medals in 2008.

 

I hope this is useful.

[Megan]

It is indeed... thank you very much.

[melbour]

On 12/1/2015 at 21:58, Megan said:

More from John Duncan McMeekin...

This is

His Majesty, King Tupou VI  (no Christian name), who is wearing the following:

THE  COLLAR: Knight Grand Cross, The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III

The Collar (note, the King has altered the insignia of replacing the Knight Grand Cross insignia (using a red riband) with that of the Grand Cross insignia (using a blue riband)..

3 BREAST  STARS

1. The (new) Knight Grand Cross Star (with the blue riband) of the Most Illust. Order of Queen Salote Tupou III.

2.  Grand Cross,  The Most Devoted Royal Household Order of Tonga - Note: this is a new G.C. as the central medallion is all gold with the embossed National Coat of Arms of Tonga (made in Singapore).

3. Supreme Class,  The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu of the Maori King, Arikinui Tuheitia Paki  (Inst. 21st August, 2014).

NECK  BADGE: Grand Officer's neck badger, Royal Household Order on a 37mm ribbon.

I'm not quite sure that 3 is the Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu. I have a feeling it is The Order of King Potatau Te Wherowhero, single class exclusively awarded to Reigning Sovereigns. Correct me if I'm wrong, apologies if I am. Were you able to confirm the honours and insignia, if so, where did you received this information?

Kiingi Tuheitia commissioned a companion book to the Orders to explain more on their purpose and potential recipients. 

http://www.lucie-blaze.com/11.html

However, this is yet to be released to the general public. Nor have there been any public investitures with a list of recipients including why they received their respective honour. Hopefully this system is made more open with more detailed information forthcoming sooner rather than later.

I believe Kiingi Tuheitia is wearing the Insignia of the Order of King Potatau Te Wherowhero. I can't quite work out all the breast stars, therefore I'm not sure if Kiingi Tuheitia is wearing all 3 of his honours or others he has received. Makau Ariki Te Atawhai (Consort to the King) is wearing insignia of an honour as well. 

Edited May 22, 2016 by melbour
Checked spelling.

[James Hoard]

I am not really sure anymore if the insignia as designed by Worth was necessarily the same as that eventually produced and conferred. The present King does not seem to wear any orders and decorations, other than those physically invested upon him. So I suspect that the Royal Household Star was the one given to him by his late brother in August 2011, and not a new design or creation. I have not seen any pictures of anyone else who has received the same class of decoration wearing a GC breast star the same as the original Worth design. It seems that several other proposals for orders and decorations proposed by Worth were either not accepted or not acted upon. So the Tongans may well have gone their own way after the submission of designs, based on what the actually manufacturers could provide, cost constraints, etc.

There does not appear to be any evidence for a change in riband colour for the Order of Queen Salote.

To add a little more into the heady mix of Tongan orders. Here is what is believed to be the Order of the Tongan Star conferred on Neville Packett - Grand Cross collar, sash, sash badge and miniature.  

Copyright Christopher Buyers

Cheers.  

[Kekoa Dettloff]

With very little physical resources at my disposal, I primarily rely upon the internet for researching on international orders. While recently searching for any additional visual references towards the older Tongan orders, I was able to stumble upon this one King Tupou IV and supposedly a young Crown Prince 'Tupoutoʻa.

The upper star appears to be that of the order of King George Tupou I knight commander based off of the images depicting it above. The lower one however seems to be an exact match to the 'Order of the Cross' worn by his Great Grand Father during his reign as well as the cross of merit? hung by the center of his uniform in a very (for lack of better words) German style of wear.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Kekoa Dettloff

[peter monahan]

Kekoa

Any date on this?  I don't know anything about the Tongan monarchy but apparently dad took the throne in 2012 and son becaome heir apparent then.  

BTW, the Venetian blinds in the backgound are a homey touch!

Edited February 11, 2017 by peter monahan

[Kekoa Dettloff]

12 hours ago, peter monahan said:

Kekoa

Any date on this?  I don't know anything about the Tongan monarchy but apparently dad took the throne in 2012 and son becaome heir apparent then.  

BTW, the Venetian blinds in the backgound are a homey touch!

The image is labeled as from 1995 on the original site, though I do fell hesitant towards the accuratecy of that date, giving the youthful appearance of the crown prince who would have been 47 at that time, as well as the insignia of the KCMG given that later images of the late King clearly show him with the regalia of the full GCMG instead among others.

 

Edited February 12, 2017 by Kekoa Dettloff