Poverty-stricken Tonga forgets its woes for a day as king is crowned in lavish ceremony

King George Tupou V, known to the locals as G5, had to put off his coronation when buildings were burned and eight people died shortly after his appointment in 2006 as rioters demanded political reform and an end to poverty.

But today thousands turned out in the streets to wave flags and shout their congratulations as the newly crowned bachelor king - Tonga's 23rd monarch - rode by in an open limousine, smiling at his subjects, many of whom had never seen him in the flesh before.

Ceremony: King George Tupou V leaves the Centenary Free Wesleyan Church in Nuku'alofa after his coronation

Huge numbers of villagers and schoolchildren from neighbouring islands had been ferried in to the capital, Nuku'alofa, to demonstrate to the world as they sing and dance in their national dress, adorned with white chicken feathers, that the king is a much-loved figure and all is well in his domain.

His coronation in a Wesleyan church had been witnessed by royalty who included the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Wearing silk knee breeches, a medal-bedecked jacket and a maroon-coloured cape trimmed with white ermine, his 10ft-long train carried by child pages, the 60-year-old monarch was anointed with oil before the gold crown was placed on his head.

The Westminster-style coronation - signifying the 60-year-old king's love of Britain where he graduated from Oxford and Sandhurst - followed an earlier ancient Tongan ceremony when dozens of slaughtered pigs and hundreds of baskets of food were presented in a tribute by more than 200 nobles and village chiefs.

Big moment: George Tupou V - known to his people as G5 - is crowned by the Archbishop Jabez Bryce

Well-wishers line the route as the new monarch is driven on a road lined with mulberry bark tapa cloth

The lavish coronation ceremony is the high point of more than a week of dinners, balls and sporting events that are estimated to have cost £1.5 million.

It will be followed in coming days by all kinds of merriment. The party includes three balls - one for very, very, important people, the next for very important people and finally one for just 'the people'.

But Prime Minister Fred Sevele said there would be no apology on behalf of the king for all this extravagance. More than 5,000 people have flooded into the country and they will spend four times that amount, he said.

'We are the only remaining kingdom in Polynesia,' he said proudly.

'Tonga has never been colonised by foreign powers, or conquered, during its 3,000-year history and the sense of celebration, the sense of having the monarch, is something that is too important for us to let go - we cannot compare it with money.'

The monocled king - accused of being an eccentric because he talks with a plummy British accent - enjoys riding in a London cab complete with curtains. He says cabs are easier to enter and leave when wearing a ceremonial uniform and sword.

The Duke of Gloucester, right, joins Tonga's king at a concert today to mark the coronation

He is a computer geek with a penchant for spiked pith helmets and he sails radio-controlled toy boats in the swimming pool of his luxury villa on a hill on the capital's outskirts.

Among his other pastimes are playing the piano and the double bass and adding to his collection of toy soldiers.

His aides say it is difficult to appreciate the full scope of King George's interests, but what is of immediate concern to his 101,000 subjects is whether he will keep his promise of political reform.

Behind this week's colourful events in the former British protectorate - named by Captain James Cook in 1773 as 'the Friendly Islands' - discontent and poverty remain the true rulers in the villages.

King George Tupou V, right, becomes the South Pacific's newest monarch in a centuries-old ritual that included receiving gifts of dozens of roasted pigs

Many in this ancient Polynesian kingdom contrast their daily struggle with the king's personal wealth, his fabulous Italianate mansion, with its tall ceilings, pillars and gold taps, and his ownership of the national airline and the electricity company.

But in an unprecedented announcement ahead of his coronation, the king announced he has 'virtually' disposed of all his commercial interests.

What is more, he says he intends to hold elections in 2010, when the people will be able to vote for their MPs and ministers, demolishing the current system in which most politicians are picked by his nobles.

Eccentric: King Tupou has a penchant for wearing a pith helmet and goggles