page_title: Sālote Tupou III
section_title: Achievements
hierarchical_section_title: Sālote Tupou III / Achievements
caption_attribution_description: Tonga, 1 Pa'anga, 1980, front, 27 x 42&#160;mm, cu/ni
context_page_description: Sālote Tupou III DBE was the first Queen regnant and third Monarch of the Kingdom of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, longer than any other Tongan Monarch. She was well known for her height, standing 6 ft 3 in tall in her prime.
context_section_description: Her marriage to Tungī Mailefihi had been a masterstroke of her father, as Tungī was a direct descendant of the Tu‘i Ha‘atakalaua, which at that time was seen as belonging to the Tu‘i Tonga's kauhala‘uta. Their children therefore combined the blood of the three grand royal dynasties in Tonga.
  In 1920–1921, she assisted the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Bayard Dominick Expedition with their mapping of Tongan archaeological sites by providing access to localities and information. The expedition's reports on the Tongan past—including a large volume of material which still remains unpublished even today—were primarily compiled by Edward Winslow Gifford and provided the groundwork for comprehensive studies of the pre-contact history of the Tongans (Burley 1998). She was also a keen writer and author of dance songs and love poems, published in 2004, edited by her biographer, Elizabeth Wood-Ellem.
  She brought Tonga to international attention when, during her sole visit to Europe, she attended the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London. During the coronation procession, it began to rain and hoods were placed on the carriages in the procession. As Tongan custom dictates that one should not imitate the actions of persons one is honouring, she refused a hood and rode through the pouring rain in an open carriage with Sultan Ibrahim IV of Kelantan, endearing herself to spectators. She served as Chairman of the Tonga Traditions Committee 1954–1965 and patronised the Tonga Red Cross Society.
caption: Tongan 1 paʻanga coin depicting Salote Tupou III
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