Tonga's New Monarch

The newly crowned King of Tonga, George Tupou V, is seen in Nuku'aloka, Tonga, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. The $2.5 million, three-day coronation, which included singing by a choir of more than 300, was the first in Tonga since 1967 when King George V's father, the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, ascended to the throne.

The King of Tonga George Tupou V, right, is crowned by His Grace the Archbishop Jabez Bryce in Nuku'aloka, Tonga, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. The coronation drew more than 5,000 people to the country.

The newly crowned King of Tonga, George Tupou V, is seen in Nuku'aloka,Tonga, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008.

Tongan King George Tupou V is saluted as he leaves the capital's Centenary Church after he was crowned in an elaborate Christian ceremony in Nuku'aloka,Tonga, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. It was the culmination of a three-day event that included a centuries-old tribal ceremony.

Among the heads of state attending the coronation of Tongan King George Tupou V, right in second row, were Japanese Crown Prince Naruhiro, center in second row, and Thailand's Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, left in second row. George V was crowned as the 23rd King of Tonga on Friday in an elaborate Christian ceremony that many expect will usher in a new, more democratic era for the South Pacific nation.

Tonga's new monarch, King George Tupou V, sits on his throne in the royal palce during the Royal Honours Investiture Ceremony in Nuku'alofa Thursday, July 31, 2008. The $2.5 million, three-day event includes banquets for visiting heads of state, military parades, fireworks, and elaborate ceremonies that mix British colonial-style pomp with centuries-old tribal traditions.

Tongan school children perform during Education Day in Nuku'aloka, Tonga, on Monday, July 28, 2008. It's part of the lavish coronation ceremonies to formally enthrone George V. The largely ceremonial event is expected to bring Tonga to a standstill for four days and be watched throughout the South Pacific.

A ceremonial procession arrives at the installation ceremony of King George Tupou V as King of Tonga Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. George V was anointed Wednesday as the South Pacific's newest monarch in a centuries-old ritual that included gifts of roasted pigs and slurping the mild narcotic, kava. Ceremonies culminate Friday with a Christian coronation before foreign heads of state.

The King of Tonga George Tupou V waves to thousands of Tongan school children on Monday, July 28, 2008. In Wednesday's Taumafakava ceremony, the king was bestowed with the traditional chiefly Tui Kanokupolu title, making George V the 23rd head of the South Pacific nation's ruling dynasty, founded in the 17th century.

Traditional gifts of pigs are laid out for a feast as part of a traditional installation of King George Tupou V as King of Tonga Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Nuku'aloka, Tonga. The rites performed with dozens of tribal chiefs were the opening salvo in days of festivities marking George V's formal coronation, though he has been Tonga's head of state and leader since his father's 2006 death.

Men carry a kava root as part of a traditional installation of King George Tupou V Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Tribal leaders went through elaborate procedures preparing, presenting and drinking kava, a gritty liquid from the roots of a pepper plant that numbs the lips and mouth. It is widely used at ceremonies across the South Pacific.

Men perform a kava making ceremony as part of a traditional installation of Tonga's King George Tupou V Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The ceremony made George V the 23rd head of the South Pacific nation's ruling dynasty, founded in the 17th century.

King George Tupou V, left, is given the first bowl of kava during his anointment as King of Tonga Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The king's official orator sang out a traditional cry as the kava bowl was presented to George V.

Tonga's King George Tupou V, right, is led from an installation ceremony Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The tribal ceremony was the first of a series of coronation events, concluding Friday with a rite before before foreign heads of state and other dignitaries.