New Zealand Maoris bury king and welcome new queen

The new Maori Queen is 27-year-old Ngā Wai hono i te pō, the youngest child of the late King Tuheiti. She is the second Maori Queen, the first being her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. The ceremony took place during a gathering at Tûrangawaewae Marae, the seat of the Kiingitanga, or Maori royal movement.

Read also: Maori King Tuheitia Dies at 69

The new Queen was presented with the same Bible used to anoint the first Māori king in 1858 and sat before her father's coffin, wearing a wreath and cloak.

The new queen has a master's degree in Māori cultural studies and teaches kapa haka, a Māori performing art.

The funeral concluded a week of ceremonies surrounding Tuheiti's death. The official mourning period for the king was extended from three to seven days to accommodate the large delegations that wanted to pay their respects.

After the Queen's coronation, a flotilla of war boats transported the King's coffin to the sacred Māori Mount Taupiri. Tuheiti's body had been placed on public display for six days before burial.

– We have lost a king who was gaining importance, leading all the tribes of Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand – ed.) at a time when we are under great political and social pressure – Mereana Hond, a Maori journalist, told the BBC.

Tuheitia was born in 1955 and was crowned in 2006 after the death of his mother. Like his mother, he was seen as a great unifying figure. The Maori monarchy dates back to the 19th century, when various Maori tribes decided to create a unifying figure similar to a European monarch to try to prevent widespread loss of land to British colonisers of New Zealand and to preserve Maori culture. This role is largely ceremonial.