- New Māori queen crowned as her father is buried
- She becomes the second Māori queen, following her grandmother
- Kiingi Tuheitia died at 69 after heart surgery, was laid to rest on Mount Taupiri
New Māori queen crowned as her father is buried
A new Māori queen has been crowned in New Zealand following the death of her father, Kiingi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. Ngā Wai hono i te pō, 27, was selected as the eighth Māori monarch by a council of chiefs during a traditional ceremony in the North Island. She becomes the second Māori queen, following her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
Ngā Wai hono i te pō, the youngest daughter of the late king, was anointed with the same Bible used for the first Māori king in 1858. Sitting on a carved throne at Tûrangawaewae Marae, she was crowned as prayers and chants honoured her father before his burial.
Kiingi Tuheitia, who passed at 69 after heart surgery, was laid to rest on Mount Taupiri following a week of mourning. His funeral included a traditional haka and a flotilla of war canoes that transported his coffin along the Waikato River. The new queen, a Māori cultural studies scholar and kapa haka teacher, represents a generational shift and a symbol of renewal for the Māori people.