Monarchies in Oceania - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

There are presently six monarchies in Oceania; that is: self-governing sovereign states in Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

where supreme power resides with an individual hereditary head, who is recognised as the head of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

. Each is a constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

, wherein the sovereign inherits his or her office, usually keeps it until death or abdication, and is bound by laws and customs in the exercise of their powers. Five of these independent states share Queen Elizabeth II as their respective head of state, making them part of a global grouping known as the Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...

s; in addition, all monarchies of Oceania are members of the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

. The only monarchy in Oceania with a separate head of state is Tonga. Australia and New Zealand have dependencies

Dependent territory

A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....

within the region and outside it.

Current monarchies

State	\| Type	\| Succession	\| Monarch	\| Reign since	\| First in line
Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Constitutional Constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...	Hereditary Hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is the most common type of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies.Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family... (male-preferance cognatic primogeniture Succession to the British Throne Succession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is currently passed on by male-preference primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth.... )	Elizabeth II Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...	6 February 1952	Charles, Prince of Wales Charles, Prince of Wales Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... (inc. Cook Islands Cook Islands The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand... & Niue Niue Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to... )				6 February 1952
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...				6 February 1952
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...				6 February 1952
Tonga Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...		Hereditary Hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is the most common type of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies.Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family... (male-preferance cognatic primogeniture Line of succession to the Tongan Throne The order of succession to the throne of Tonga is laid down in the 1875 constitution of the south Pacific island nation. This constitution specifies that the succession is confined to the descendants of King Siaosi Tāufaāhau Tupou I, through his son Crown Prince Tēvita Unga and his son Prince... )	George Tupou V George Tupou V George Tupou V , is the current King of Tonga.-Early life:...	11 September 2006	[[ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho]]
Tuvalu Tuvalu Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...		Hereditary Hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is the most common type of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies.Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family... (male-preferance cognatic primogeniture Succession to the British Throne Succession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is currently passed on by male-preference primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth.... )	Elizabeth II Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...	6 February 1952	Charles, Prince of Wales Charles, Prince of Wales Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
Dependency	\| Type	\| Succession	\| Monarch	\| Reign since	\| Heir apparent
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific... (United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... )	Constitutional Constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...	Hereditary Hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is the most common type of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies.Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family... (male primogeniture Succession to the British Throne Succession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is currently passed on by male-preference primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth.... )	Elizabeth II	6 February 1952	Charles, Prince of Wales Charles, Prince of Wales Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
Non-Sovereign	\| Type	\| Succession	\| Monarch	\| Reign since	\| Heir apparent
Māori King Movement Maori King Movement The Māori King Movement or Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the Māori tribes of New Zealand in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the colonising people, the British, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land... (New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... )	Non-Sovereign Non-sovereign monarchy A non-sovereign monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity , and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own...	Elective Elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...	Tuheitia Paki Tuheitia Paki Tuheitia Paki, KStJ is the current Māori King in New Zealand. He is the eldest son of the previous Māori monarch, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and was announced as her successor and crowned on the same day as her tangihanga took place, on 21 August 2006...	21 August 2006	none
Uvea (France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... )	Non-Sovereign Non-sovereign monarchy A non-sovereign monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity , and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own...	Elective Elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...	Kapiliele Faupala Kapiliele Faupala Kapeliele "Gabriel" Faupala is the 51st Lavelua of Wallis Island , one of the three traditional kingdoms which comprises the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna...	25 July 2008	none
Alo (France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... )	Non-Sovereign Non-sovereign monarchy A non-sovereign monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity , and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own...	Elective Elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...	Vacatn	-	none
Sigave (France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... )	Non-Sovereign Non-sovereign monarchy A non-sovereign monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity , and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own...	Elective Elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...	Polikalepo Kolivai	3 July 2010	none

Australia

The Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n monarchy goes back a few hundred years. More than 200 years ago Australia was found by Europeans and eventually settled by the British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. Before the settlement there already existed native people as well. Eventually Australia was granted more and more powers to govern itself. In 1900 one of the last acts of Queen Victoria before she died on 22 January 1901 was the giving Royal Assent to the Commonwealth of Australia Act
Constitutional history of Australia
-Emergence of the Commonwealth of Australia:After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organised as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all...

which would give Australia its own Constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

and government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

. On 1 January 1901 Queen Victoria would live to see the day Australia was declared federated with six states and several territories in Centennial Park

Centennial Park, New South Wales

Centennial Park is a large public, urban park that occupies 220 hectares in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Centennial Park is located 4 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Randwick...

, Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. 30 years following that the Statute of Westminster

Statute of Westminster 1931

The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...

granted equality to the realms and finally on 3 March 1986 Australia Act (in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and Australia) gave full independence

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

to Australia in theory, although in practice it was already operating mostly independently.

In 1999 Australia held a referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

on whether to become a republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

or not; the referendum's outcome was the retention of the Australian monarchy. The majority of all voters and all states rejected the proposal.

The realm of Australia is made up of six federated states

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

and three federal territories (including the Jervis Bay Territory

Jervis Bay Territory

The Jervis Bay Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. It was surrendered by the state of New South Wales to the Commonwealth Government in 1915 so that the Federal capital at Canberra would have "access to the sea"....

). It also includes a number of external territories, which are administered by the federal government

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

: Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

The Territory of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands is an external territory of Australia consisting of two groups of small low-lying uninhabited tropical islands in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf north-west of Australia and south of the Indonesian island of...

, Christmas Island

Christmas Island

The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....

, Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....

, Coral Sea Islands

Coral Sea Islands

The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Willis Island...

, Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

The Heard Island and McDonald Islands are an Australian external territory and volcanic group of barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size is in area and it has of coastline...

, Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...

, and the Australian Antarctic Territory

Australian Antarctic Territory

The Australian Antarctic Territory is a part of Antarctica. It was claimed by the United Kingdom and placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation...

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

also had a native people before the arrival of European colonisers; the Māori, a Polynesian people, settled Te Ika-a-Māui

Te Ika-a-Maui

Te Ika-a-Māui is the Māori name for the North Island of New Zealand. It is translated to "the fish of Maui", from the story of when Māui hauled up the North Island on his waka ....

or Aotearoa

Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...

(now known in English as the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

), Te Wai Pounamu

Te Wai Pounamu

Te Wai Pounamu is a Māori name for New Zealand's South Island which is also sometimes referred to as Te Waka a Maui , from mythology....

or Te Waka a Māui

Te Waka a Maui

Te Waka a Māui is a Māori name for the South Island, New Zealand. Some Māori mythology says that it was the vessel which Māui stood on as he hauled up Te Ika-a-Māui ....

(now known in English as the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

), and other surrounding islands between AD 800 and 1300. The Treaty of Waitangi

Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....

, signed on 6 February 1840, was an agreement between Māori chiefs in the North Island and representatives of the then British Crown (since 1947 the Crown of New Zealand); roughly 500 other Māori chiefs throughout New Zealand later signed. It is today highly respected by Māori, as it is seen as a treaty which granted them certain rights. The treaty is seen as one of the founding documents of the Constitution of New Zealand and to this day is part of New Zealand law.

The Realm of New Zealand

Realm of New Zealand

The Realm of New Zealand is the entire area in which the Queen in right of New Zealand is head of state. The Realm comprises New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency in Antarctica, and is defined by a 1983 Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor-General of New...

also includes two associated state

Associated state

An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory with a degree of statehood and a nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted...

s, Niue

Niue

Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...

and the Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

, and the territories of Tokelau

Tokelau

Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400...

and the Ross Dependency

Ross Dependency

The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south...

(New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica). All share the Queen of New Zealand as head of state.

Papua New Guinea

The monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

of Papua New Guinea (the Papua New Guinean Monarchy) is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the head of state. The present monarch of Papua New Guinea is Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch is constitutionally represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea

Governor-General of Papua New Guinea

The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is the viceregal representative of Queen Elizabeth II, known in Tok Pisin as 'Missis Kwin', Papua New Guinea's head of state, performing the duties of the Queen in her absence...

, whose roles and powers are laid out by the Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Constitution

.

After being ruled by three external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in 1975. It chose to become a kingdom with its own Queen and monarchy.

Solomon Islands

The Head of State of the Solomon Islands is Queen Elizabeth II. The Solomon Islands share the Sovereign with a number of Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

s. The Queen's constitutional roles have been almost entirely delegated to the Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

of the Solomon Islands. Royal succession is governed by the English Act of Settlement of 1701, which is part of constitutional law.

On all matters of the Solomon Island State, the Monarch is advised solely by Solomon Island ministers, not British or otherwise.

Tonga

The House of Tupou was officially formed in 1875 when the monarch's constitutional role was put forth.

In July 2008, three days before his coronation, King George Tupou V

George Tupou V

George Tupou V , is the current King of Tonga.-Early life:...

announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Tonga

This is a list of Prime Ministers of Tonga from the establishment of that office in 1876 until the present day.-List of Premiers/Prime Ministers of Tonga :-External links:*...

's recommendations on most matters.

The current monarch is George Tupou V

George Tupou V

George Tupou V , is the current King of Tonga.-Early life:...

Tuvalu

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

were Polynesian people. The islands came under the UK's sphere of influence in the late 19th century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain

United Kingdom

as part of a protectorate from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became fully independent within The Commonwealth in 1978.

A constitutional referendum

Referendum

held on 30 April 2008 turned out 1,260 to 679 votes in favour of retaining the monarchy.

Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in Polynesia consisting of three main islands (Wallis

Wallis

- Places :* Valais, a Swiss canton with the German name "Wallis"* Walliswil bei Niederbipp* Walliswil bei Wangen* Wallis Islands- Others :* Wallis , a British clothing retailer* Wallis Theatres, an Australian cinema franchise- See also :...

, Futuna

Futuna Island

Futuna is the name of two islands in the Pacific Ocean:*Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna is one of the Horne Islands, belonging to the French territory of Wallis and Futuna*Futuna Island, Vanuatu, an island in the Tafea province of Vanuatu...

, and the mostly uninhabited Alofi

Alofi Island

Alofi is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna...

) and a number of tiny islets. The collectivity is made up of three traditional kingdoms: `Uvea

Uvea

The uvea , also called the uveal layer, uveal coat, uveal tract, or vascular tunic, is the pigmented middle of the three concentric layers that make up an eye. The name is possibly a reference to its reddish-blue or almost black colour, wrinkled appearance and grape-like size and shape when...

, on the island of Wallis, Sigave

Sigave

Sigavé is one of the three official chiefdoms of the French territory of Wallis and Futuna in Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean.-Geography:...

, on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo

Alo (Wallis and Futuna)

Alo is one of three official chiefdoms of the French territory of Wallis and Futuna in Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean.-Geography:...

, on the island of Alofi and on the eastern part of the island of Futuna. The current King of Uvea is Kapiliele Faupala

Kapiliele Faupala

Kapeliele "Gabriel" Faupala is the 51st Lavelua of Wallis Island , one of the three traditional kingdoms which comprises the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna...

and the current King of Sigave is Visesio Moeliku

Visesio Moeliku

Visesio Moeliku, born in 1922, has been Tu`i Sigave , in Wallis and Futuna, from March 10, 2004 to August 2009.-External links:* , beside King Soane Patita Maituku for Wallis and Futuna : Jacques Chirac meets King Visesio Moeliku...

. They have reigned since 2008 and 2004, respectively. The throne of Alo is currently vacant, as the last King, Petelo Vikena

Petelo Vikena

Petelo Vikena was Tuigaifo, or Monarch, of the Kingdom of Alo, which is also known as the Kingdom of Futuna from his coronation on November 6, 2008 to his abdication on January 22, 2010. Alo is one of the three traditional kingdoms, or chiefdoms, which comprise Wallis and Futuna.- Personal life...

, crowned in 2008, abdicated on January 22, 2010, and the Council of Chiefs has yet to choose a new King.

The territory was annexed by the French Republic in 1888, and was placed under the authority of another French colony

French colonial empire

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

, New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

. The inhabitants of the islands voted in a 1959 referendum

Referendum

to become an overseas collectivity of France, effective in 1961. The collectivity is governed as a parliamentary republic

Parliamentary republic

A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government - meaning a system with no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. There are a number of variations of...

, the citizens elect a Territorial Assembly, the President of which becomes head of government. His cabinet, the Council of the Territory, is made up of the three Kings and three appointed ministers. In addition to this limited parliamentary role the Kings play, the individual kingdoms' customary legal systems have some jurisdiction in areas of civil law

Civil law (area)

Civil law in continental law is a branch of law which is the general part of private law.The basis for civil law lies in a civil code. Before enacting of codes, civil law could not be distinguished from private law...

Former monarchies

Note: the dates of abolishion are from the moment the kingdoms lost their sovereignity; sometimes the kingship were still retained under colonial rule

Marquesas Islands (Nuku Hiva)

Marquesas Islands

The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...

: Abolished (1842) Kingdom of Tahiti: Abolished (1880) Mangareva

Mangareva

Mangareva is the central and most important island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north...

: Abolished (1881) Rapa Iti

Rapa Iti

Rapa or Rapa Iti as it is sometimes called in more recent years , is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo Its area is 40 km2 with a population of almost 500 and a max elevation of 650 m...

: Abolished (1881) Kingdom of Rapa Nui

Kings of Easter Island

- The First King :The legendary first king of Easter Island is said to have been Hotu Matu‘a, who supposedly arrived around 500 to 600. Legend insists that this man was the chief of a tribe that lived on Marae Renga. The Marae Renga is said to have existed in a place known as the "Hiva region"...

: Abolished (1888) Bora Bora

Bora Bora

The commune of Bora-Bora is made up of the island of Bora Bora proper with its surrounding islets emerging from the coral reef, 29.3 km² in total, and of the atoll of Tupai , located north of Bora Bora...

: Abolished (1888) Raiatea

Raiatea

Raiatea , is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the 'center' of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the organised migrations to Hawaii, Aotearoa and other parts of East Polynesia started at...

: Abolished (1888) Tahuata

Tahuata

Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelais, called Ha‘ava in Marquesan.-Administration:Administratively,...

: Abolished (1889) Kingdom of Rarotonga

Kingdom of Rarotonga

The Kingdom of Rarotonga, named after the island of Rarotonga, was an independent kingdom established in the present-day Cook Islands in 1858...

: Abolished (1893) Kingdom of Hawaii

Kingdom of Hawaii

The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...

: Abolished (1893) Huahine

Huahine

Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group . The island has a population of about 6,000.-Geography:...

: Abolished (1897) Niuē-Fekai

Niue

: Abolished (1900) Rurutu

Rurutu (Austral Islands)

Rurutu is the northernmost island in the Austral archipelago of French Polynesia, and the name of a commune consisting solely of that island. It is situated south of Tahiti....

: Abolished (1900) Rimatara

Rimatara

Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It has a total surface area of and a population of 786 inhabitants . It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu...

: Abolished (1901) Monarchy of Fiji

Monarchy of Fiji

The monarchy of Fiji arose in the mid-nineteenth century when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands and declared himself King or paramount chief of Fiji . In 1874, he voluntarily ceded sovereignty of the islands to Britain, which made Fiji a Crown colony...

: Abolished (1874 native, 1987 British) Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

: Status change (2007)
Tuamotu: Abolished (?)