Tonga's coronation celebrations

Tongan schoolchildren wearing ta'ovala waist mats dance for King George Tupou V at the royal palace in the capital, Nuku'alofa Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty

Tongan students wearing fa seed necklaces perform the Lakalaka dance for the king Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty

Men perform a kava-making ceremony as part of the traditional installation of Tonga's monarch. The ceremony includes gifts of dozens of roasted pigs and imbibing kava, a mildly narcotic drink Photograph: Glenn Jeffrey/New Zealand Herald/AP

People walk next to cooked pigs presented during celebrations in honour of King Tupou V. Around 70 cooked pigs and hundreds of baskets of food were presented to Tonga's new king Photograph: Mary Lyn Fonua /Reuters

Tongan schoolchildren burn torches during the ancient Tupakapakanava ceremony to honour the coronation Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty

The new Tongan monarch, George Tupou V, is led from the ceremony Photograph: Glenn Jeffrey/New Zealand Herald/AP

King George Tupou V is given the first bowl of kava during his anointment as the King of Tonga Photograph: Glenn Jeffrey/New Zealand Herald/AP

King George Tupou V drinks a coconut shell of kava at the pinnacle of the coronation ceremony and taumafa kava ritual in the sacred Pangai Lahi gathering area of Nuku'alofa. By consuming the kava in a single motion, he formally became the 23rd Tongan monarch Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty

Tonga's new monarch sits on his throne in the royal palace as an aide wipes sweat from his brow Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AP

Reserve Bank of Tonga clerk Selaima Finau displays the newly-released one hundred pa'anga note featuring the new monarch Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty

King George Tupou V of Tonga is crowned by the Archbishop of Polynesia, Jabez Bryce Photograph: Peter Halmagyi/AFP

The newly-crowned king sits on his 2.5 metre golden throne, which was made in China Photograph: Peter Halmagyi/AFP

George Tupou V is seen leaving his Christian coronation ceremony at the Centenary Free Wesleyan church in Nuku'alofa Photograph: Glenn Jeffrey/AP

Tonga's new monarchdrives away from his lavish Christian coronation ceremony Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP

Tongan schoolchildren wave red and white national flags as their new king passes under an archway bearing his portrait Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP