Tupou College (Toloa) students form an unbroken line from the throne room to the east gates.

The Guard of Honour -100-strong - stand in a straight row from the sacred east gates of the Royal Palace, pointing a white military line towards the west.  The defence forces carry arms in reverse.  Their faces are stony, as they slow-walk in unison with grace and precision.

Tonga Police and Army band

The Guards of Honour in their distinguished military uniforms enter the wrought iron Palace gates.  The combined Tonga Police Force and Royal Corps of Musicians follow the guards in the procession heading to the Palace.  The en Masse band wears regal white, their tubas and trumpets gleaming silver in the sun. 

Clergy and Chaplain

The officiating clergy includes the Royal Chaplain and interdenominational church leaders.  They stand in the fine robes of their clergy, gathered together and united by the passing of a Christian Monarch who was devoted to his God.

Fata Lauaki (Kamata) - Catafalque being carried outside the Palace grounds

One thousand men in black, stand waiting to uplift the catafalque.  

Boys from Tonga College (‘Atele’) come the tapa road that has been created for the late King.  Their white uniforms shine in the glare of the late morning sun.  Their ta’ovala, trimmed in bright red, lend another royal colour to the occasion.

Ngatu (commonly known as tapa) is made of the prepared bark of the paper mulberry tree.  Yards of the decorative tapa flow seamlessly from the Royal Palace where the Catafalque rests, all the way to Mala’e Kula, the Royal Tombs.

The children and men wait at the sacred gates, for their late King to make his last crossing down the road of the King, to his final resting place.