Queen Takipō had not given birth to a son and hence according to the Constitution of 1875, after her fifteenth birthday, Sālote became the heir presumptive to the Tongan throne.
1900
Sālote Tupou III (born Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu; 13 March 1900 – 16 December 1965) was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965.
She reigned for nearly 48 years, longer than any other Tongan monarch.
She was well known for her height, standing 6 ft 3 in (1.91 metres) tall in her prime.
Sālote (Charlotte) was born on 13 March 1900 in Tonga as the eldest daughter and heir of King George Tupou II of Tonga and his first wife Queen Lavinia Veiongo.
She was baptized and named after her great-grandmother Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu (daughter of George Tupou I).
The young princess was the source of some hostility due to the nature of her parents' marriage.
1902
Her mother, Queen Lavinia, died from tuberculosis on 24 April 1902.
After her death, the Chiefs in Tonga urged King George Tupou II for many years to remarry to produce a male heir.
1909
On 11 November 1909, when the King finally married the 16-year-old ʻAnaseini Takipō (half-sister of the rejected candidate 'Ofakivava'u' from the first search of a wife for the King), the chiefs were jubilant.
In order to protect her, the King sent Sālote away to Auckland in December 1909.
She stayed with a family called Kronfeld and would maintain this connection throughout her life.
In December 1909, Sālote was sent to Auckland, New Zealand, to start five years of education.
She returned to Tonga every Christmas holiday.
1911
Queen Anaseni gave birth twice, both girls: Princess ʻOnelua (born 20 March 1911; died of convulsions aged six months, on 19 August 1911) and Princess ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku (born 26 July 1912; died from tubercular peritonitis on 21 April 1933 aged 20).
Tongan tradition allows offsprings from previous marriages to be killed.
1913
In 1913, Sālote was sent to the Anglican Diocesan School for Girls, a boarding school in Epsom, New Zealand.
She would study there for 2 years before being ordered to stay in Tonga.
Although the King wanted Sālote to continue her education, the chiefs convinced him otherwise.
1917
In 1917, Sālote married Viliami Tungī Mailefihi, an adult noble then 30 years old, 13 years her senior.
At the age of 18, she became a mother for the first time.
Her children were:
Sālote had a somewhat troubled medical history.
She suffered from diabetes which required frequent visits to Auckland for treatment.
1920
In 1920–1921, she assisted the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Bayard Dominick Expedition with their mapping of Tongan archaeological sites by providing access to localities and information.
1935
An operation had to be conducted in 1935 to treat her cancer and during tests in Auckland in 1965 a second bout of cancer was found.
1965
Despite this the Queen returned to Tonga in May and even participated in a festival in July 1965 celebrating her record reign.
10,000 children were allowed to enter the palace grounds and wave at the Queen as she sat on the verandah.
This would be the last time the Tongan people saw their Queen.
Queen Sālote died peacefully on 16 December 1965 at 12:15 am.
Her body was flown back to Tonga by the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
The funeral service took took place on December 23 with 50,000 people in attendance.
Her body was placed next to her husband and her tomb was guarded for several nights, as per tradition.
Sālote was well-loved and respected by her people.
Many Tongans saw her as "tough, hard-working, just, ambitious".
She was also very approachable with her palace doors being open to all.
This led to her being very knowledgeable not just of Tongan tradition (which she was already well-versed from prior to her marriage), but also of specific family histories, which are very important in Tongan culture.
In fact she would often assist and impress visiting anthropologists with her detailed knowledge of the culture.
Her marriage to Tungī Mailefihi had been a political masterstroke by her father, as Tungī was a direct descendant of the Tu‘i Ha‘atakalaua.
Their children, therefore, combined the blood of the three grand royal dynasties in Tonga.
