Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Zealand, and the United Kingdom, specifically; and Samoa's head of state, Malietoa Tanumafili II. Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (4 July 1918 – 10 September 2006), son of Queen Sālote Tupou III and her consort Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi, was the king of Tonga from the death of his mother in 1965 until his own death in 2006. Immediately prior to his death, he was the fourth longest-reigning living monarch in the world after Kings Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Abdul Halim of Kedah of Malaysia and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. He was married to Queen Halaevalu
Monarchies in Oceania July 2008, three days before his coronation, King George Tupou V announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister's recommendations on most matters. The current monarch is Tupou VI. The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. The islands came under the UK's sphere of influence in the late 19th century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a protectorate from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status