There are six monarchies inOceania with an individual hereditary monarch, who is recognised as thehead of state. Each is aconstitutional monarchy: the sovereign inherits his or her office, usually keeps it until death or abdication, but is bound by laws and customs in the exercise of their powers. Five of these independent states shareKing Charles III as their head of state,[1] making them part of a global grouping known as theCommonwealth realms; in addition, all monarchies of Oceania are members of theCommonwealth of Nations. The only sovereign monarchy in Oceania that does not share a monarch with another state isTonga. Australia and New Zealand havedependencies within the region and outside it, although five non-sovereign constituent monarchs are recognised by New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and France.
| State | Type | Succession | Dynasty | Title | Monarch | Reigning since | First in line | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth of Australia | Constitutional | Hereditary (absolute primogeniture) | Windsor | King | .jpg) | Charles III | 8 September 2022 | William, Prince of Wales |
| Realm of New Zealand | ||||||||
| Independent State of Papua New Guinea | ||||||||
| Solomon Islands | ||||||||
| Tuvalu | ||||||||
| Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands | ||||||||
| Kingdom of Tonga | Hereditary (male-preference cognatic primogeniture) | Tupou | King |  | Tupou VI | 18 March 2012 | Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala | |
| State | Type | Succession | Monarch | Title | Reigning since | First in line | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Māori King movement (New Zealand) | Traditional | Elective | Nga wai hono i te po | Te Arikinui | 5 September 2024 | Elected by tribal elders on monarch's death | |
| Wallis and Futuna (France) | Uvea | Patalione Kanimoa | Lavelua | 3 June 2016 | Elected by the Council of Chiefs | ||
| Alo | Lino Leleivai | Tu`i Agaifo | 29 November 2018 | ||||
| Sigave | Eufenio Takala | Tu`i Sigave | 5 March 2016 | ||||
TheAustralian monarchy goes back a few hundred years. European explorers started encountering the continent of Australia from the early 17th century, and theKingdom of Great Britain founded and peopled colonial settlement from 1788. Before the European settlement an estimated half-millionAustralian Aborigines formed hundreds of different social groupings. Eventually the British government granted Australians more and more powers to govern themselves. On 9 July 1900, in one of her last acts before she died on 22 January 1901,Queen Victoria gave the royal assent to theCommonwealth of Australia Act[2]which would give Australia its own federalconstitution andgovernment. On 1 January 1901 theGovernor General,Lord Hopetoun declared thefederation of six Australian states and several territories inCentennial Park,Sydney. 30 years following that theStatute of Westminster granted equality to the realms and finally on 3 March 1986Australia Act (in theUnited Kingdom and Australia) gave fullindependence to Australia in theory, although in practice it was already operating mostly independently.
In 1999 Australia held areferendum on whether to become arepublic or not; the referendum resulted in the retention of the Australian monarchy. The majority of all voters and all states rejected the proposal.
The realm of Australia comprisessix federated states and three federal territories (including theJervis Bay Territory). It also includes a number of external territories administered by thefederal government:Ashmore and Cartier Islands,Christmas Island,Cocos (Keeling) Islands,Coral Sea Islands,Heard Island and McDonald Islands,Norfolk Island, and theAustralian Antarctic Territory.
New Zealand also had a native people before the arrival of European colonisers; theMāori, a Polynesian people, settled the islands around AD 1300. TheTreaty of Waitangi, signed on 6 February 1840, was an agreement between Māori chiefs in the North Island and representatives of the thenBritish Crown; roughly 500 other Māori chiefs throughout New Zealand later signed.[3] Following the Treaty, the islands of New Zealand became a BritishCrown colony andQueen Victoria became the monarch over New Zealand.[4]
The New Zealand monarchy has evolved to become a distinctly New Zealand institution, represented by unique symbols. TheKing of New Zealand is legally considered a distinct monarch from the monarch of the United Kingdom. This has been the case since the passage of the Statute of Westminster, which introduced the concept that though Britain and thedominions have sovereigns who are legally and constitutionally distinct even though they are shared in body. TheConstitution Act 1986 declares that "The Sovereign in right of New Zealand is the head of State of New Zealand, and shall be known by the royal style and titles proclaimed from time to time".[5] The King's constitutional roles have been almost entirely delegated to agovernor-general, whom he appoints on the advice of theprime minister of the day.[6] When QueenElizabeth II visited New Zealand she had presided over theopening of Parliament, and had performed other acts normally delegated to the governor-general.[7] The role of the monarchy in New Zealand is a recurring topic of public discussion.[8]
TheRealm of New Zealand is the entire area over which the King of New Zealand issovereign, and comprises twoassociated states,Niue and theCook Islands, and the territories ofTokelau[9] and theRoss Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).[10]
TheMāori King movement, called theKīngitanga[a] inMāori, is a movement that arose among some of the Māoriiwi (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 British colonists, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land.[13] The Māori monarch operates in a non-constitutional capacity with no legal or judicial power within the New Zealand government. Reigning monarchs retain the position of paramount chief of several iwi[14] and wield some power over these, especially within theTainui iwi.
Themonarchy of Papua New Guinea (the Papua New Guinean Monarchy) is a system ofgovernment in which a hereditary monarch is the head of state. The present monarch of Papua New Guinea is King Charles III. The monarch is constitutionally represented by theGovernor-General of Papua New Guinea, whose roles and powers are laid out by theConstitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
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 monarch.
The Head of State of the Solomon Islands is King Charles III. The Solomon Islands share the Sovereign with a number ofCommonwealth realms. The King's constitutional roles have been almost entirely delegated to theGovernor-General 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.
The first inhabitants ofTuvalu werePolynesian people. The islands came under the UK's sphere of influence in the late 19th century. TheEllice Islands were administered byBritain 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 withinThe Commonwealth in 1978.
A constitutionalreferendum held on 30 April 2008 turned out 1,260 to 679 votes in favour of retaining the monarchy.
The House of Tupou was formed in 1875 when the monarch's constitutional role was put forth.
In July 2008, three days before his coronation, KingGeorge Tupou V announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by hisPrime Minister's recommendations on most matters.[15]
The current monarch isTupou VI.
Wallis and Futuna is anoverseas collectivity of theFrench Republic in Polynesia consisting of three main islands (Wallis,Futuna, and the mostly uninhabitedAlofi) and a number of tiny islets. The collectivity is made up of three traditionalkingdoms: `Uvea, on the island of Wallis,Sigave, on the western part of the island of Futuna, andAlo, on the island of Alofi and on the eastern part of the island of Futuna. The King of Uvea isPatalione Kanimoa, the King of Sigave isEufenio Takala and the King of Alo isLino Leleivai. The territory was annexed by the French Republic in 1888, and was placed under the authority of anotherFrench colony,New Caledonia. The inhabitants of the islands voted in a 1959referendum to become an overseas collectivity of France, effective in 1961. The collectivity is governed as aparliamentary republic, 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.[16] In addition to this limited parliamentary role the Kings play, the individual kingdoms'customary legal systems have some jurisdiction in areas ofcivil law.[16]
Marquesas Islands: Abolished (Sovereignty in 1842)
Taiohae (Nuku Hiva): Abolished (1901)
Tahuata: Abolished (1889)
Kingdom of Tahiti: Abolished (1880)
Huahine: Abolished (1895)
Kingdom of Raiatea: Abolished (1888)
Kingdom of Bora Bora: Abolished (1895)
Mangareva: Abolished (1881)
Rurutu: Abolished (1900)
Rimatara: Abolished (1901)
Kingdom of Hawaii: Abolished (1893)
Samoa:Status change (2007)
Tokelau Abolished (Unknown Date)
Niuē-Fekai: Abolished (1917)
Kingdom of Rarotonga: Abolished (1893)
Kingdom of Rapa Nui: Abolished (1888)
Kingdom of Fiji: Abolished (1874 native)
Abemama: Abolished (1979)
Ralik: Abolished (1910)