Tonga's George Tupou V has been crowned king of the tiny South Pacific nation in a lavish Christian ceremony attended by royalty from around the world.
Wearing silk knee breeches and a medal covered jacket, the sovereign of Polynesia's last monarchy was crowned on a 2.5-metre-high golden throne as a 21-cannon salute rang out and church bells tolled.
Full of European pomp and ceremony, the hour-long coronation at the Centenary Free Wesleyan Church in the capital Nuku'alofa was watched by about 1,000 guests inside the church and hundreds more seated outside.
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Britain's Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended, along with regional political leaders including New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
Hymns and music were performed by a 370-member local choir and orchestra. Choir member Paul Ilavalu said the country saw the coronation as a new beginning. "We are all proud and we are happy to see our king crowned and we wish he will lead us to a new life and a new prosperity."
The 60-year-old king was crowned two years after the death of his father, whose own coronation was held 41 years earlier.
Originally scheduled for last year, the coronation was delayed as Nuku'alofa recovered from a riot sparked by a political rally in late 2006 that left eight people dead and dozens of buildings looted and burned.
Since taking power in 2006, George has backed political reforms in the nation where nearly a quarter of the 115,000 population live below the poverty line.
He has already announced plans to move Tonga to a more democratic system of government and has tried to shake off his reputation as an eccentric figure whose tastes include elaborate uniforms, colonial-era pith helmets and monocles.
The Western coronation came two days after George was installed in an ancient Tongan ceremony, in which dozens of slaughtered pigs and hundreds of baskets of food were presented in tribute by more than 200 nobles and chiefs.
George was offered a bowl of kava, a mild narcotic drink made from the roots of a plant, to signify his sovereignty over Tonga, a country spread over 170 islands.
Tongan barrister Kahu Barron Afeaki, who practises law in Auckland, says constitutional change is inevitable, but the church ceremony showed clearly that Tonga is not ready to be without its king.
Mr Afreaki says an electoral commission to be formed following legislation in parliament last week has a huge and responsible task ahead.
