New Zealand|Tuheitia was the leader of the seven Maori king movement from 1858.
New Zealand a native Maori king Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died on Friday at the age of 69, according to news agencies and a US channel CNN.
According to his spokesperson, King Tuheitia was in the hospital recovering from heart surgery. He had suffered from cancer and diabetes in recent years, which had weakened his general condition.
The Maori king has no actual constitutional status in New Zealand, but the role includes symbolic power. The royal movement was created in the 1850s.
The kingship is not a hereditary position, but all seven people who held the position have been members of the first king who ruled between 1858 and 1860 Pōtatau Te Wherowhero descendants.
King Tuheitia rose to power when his mother, the queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu died in 2006.
Māori King Tuheitia and Britain’s King Charles met at the center of the Māori King Movement at Tūrangawaewae Marae in New Zealand in 2015.
Britain’s king Charles sent from own and the queen Camilla’s offered his condolences to the Maori and stated, using a Maori saying, that “the great totara tree has fallen”.
Charles said that he had known Tuheitia for decades. According to Charles, Tuheitia was dedicated to her work of maintaining Maori culture.
About 18 percent of New Zealand’s population of 5.4 million are Maori.
The new king is chosen by the leaders of the Maori tribes belonging to the king movement on the day of Tuheitia’s funeral, before the king’s burial. The king is a recognized leader among many Maori tribes, but not all, the news agency Reuters reports.
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