The Kingdom of Tonga is mourning the death of their chief King George Tupou V who died in Hong Kong on Sunday.

Tonga King George Tupou V[File photo]

Prime Minister Lord Siale'ataonga Tu'ivakano relayed the message to the people of the close knit kingdom on Monday. Tu' ivakano gave a brief address announcing that the king had died at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The prime minister declared that the royal family and entire nation were in mourning, ending his address with a Tongan expression meaning "the sun has set," as he described the death to the people of the Kingdom.

King Tupou, 63, has long suffered a range of illnesses and last year had a cancerous kidney removed in the United States.

But still his death came as a shock in the kingdom of some 105, 916 people, because at his last public appearance, meeting Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican in Rome earlier this month, he appeared healthy and joyful.

Tupou's brother and now the new king Tupouto'a Lavaka Ata was with Tupou when he died, according to the prime minister.

Earlier, Matangi Tonga Online quoted sources as saying that King Tupou was taken to hospital Sunday afternoon and died a few hours later.

Tupou, who was well known in the Pacific for championing a more democratic system of government in Tonga compared to his predecessors, had a kidney removed after a "significant tumour" was located.

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