The Kingitanga movement has a new leader as Kuini Nga Wai hono i te po Paki, the youngest child and only daughter of Kingi Tuheitia and Makau Ariki Atawhai, has been officially anointed. This ceremony took place with her father lying in state beside her, reminiscent of his own ascension nearly 18 years ago at Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia, the movement’s headquarters.
Kuini Nga Wai is a direct descendant of Potatau Te Wherowhero, the first Maori King, who was crowned in 1858. She becomes the eighth monarch to lead the Kingitanga, just weeks away from the anniversary of her late father’s coronation on August 21, 2006.
At 27 years old, she is only the second female to assume leadership of the movement, following her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who held the title from 1966 until 2006.
Kuini Nga Wai was educated at Te Whare Kura o Rakaumanga in Huntly and earned a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship in 2016. She graduated from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Arts and completed her Master of Arts Degree with First Class Honours in 2022.
Born on January 13, 1997, she was just nine years old when her father ascended to the throne.