Wedding of Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala and Sinaitakala Fakafanua following the death of King George Tupou V and the ascension of Tupou VI to the throne. The wedding ceremony marked the end of Tonga's one-hundred-day mourning period marking the death of George Tupou V, who died in March. The Crown Prince is the son of Tupou VI and the nephew of the late King George Tupou V. All royal marriages in Tonga are arranged. Under Tongan royal protocol and tradition, members of the royal family may only marry members of Tongan nobility to maintain the royal bloodline. The bride, Sinaitakala Fakafanua, is also a member of the royal family
Tupou VI included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville. He graduated with a masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales in 1997 and with an MA in International Relations from Bond University in 1999. In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as the defence minister and the foreign minister at the same time, from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Tupoutoʻa, at that time still the crown prince, later to become King Siaosi Tupou V (see below). Soon he was appointed as Prime Minister on