Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926,[1] 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[1][3][4] She was also a great-great-granddaughter of Maʻafu.[4]

She was educated at St Joseph's Convent School, Nuku’alofa, and St Mary's College, in Auckland, New Zealand.[5]

On 10 June 1946, Halaevalu married her distant relative Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau of Tonga[4] (eldest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga (1900-1965) and Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi).

The Queen Mother celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May.[3] 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.[3] The Queen Mother attended a Roman Catholic mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on May 26, 2011.[3] The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on May 27, with primary school students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts.[3] A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at the Centennial Church on Sunday, May 29, and a luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa.[3]

The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the U.S. state of Utah in July and August 2011.[6] Specifically, the Queen Mother 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.[6] The Mayor of West Valley City, Michael K. Winder, awarded the Queen Mother the key to the city on July 27, 2011.[6] She also met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert the next day.[6]

On 19 February 2017, the Queen Mother died aged 90, which was confirmed by her granddaughter Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho, High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia, a week after she was flown to Auckland, New Zealand, for minor medical issues; the cause of death, however, was not released publicly.

Queen Halaevalu Mataʻaho‘s coffin atop a catafalque carried by hundreds of Pallbearers towards the Royal Tombs.

The Queen Mother was flown back to Tonga by the Royal Beechcraft G.18S Aircraft on February 28 flanked by the C-130 Hercules of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, after lying-in-state at the Tongan royal residence, 'Atalanga in Epsom, Auckland.

See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...