Nga wai hono i te po (born 13 January 1997) is the MÃÂori queen. She has reigned since 2024, when she was elected to succeed her father King Tà «heitia. The youngest child and only daughter of Tà «heitia, she is a direct descendant of the first MÃÂori king, Pà Âtatau Te Wherowhero, who was installed in 1858. Titled Te Arikinui Kuëni, she is the eighth monarch and the second queen of the .
Nga wai hono i te po was born into the Këngitanga royal family during the reign of her paternal grandmother Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Her parents are Këngi Tà «heitia Pà Âtatau Te Wherowhero VII and Makau Ariki Atawhai Paki. Her early life was steeped in the cultural and spiritual practices of the MÃÂori people, with a particular focus on the traditions of the Këngitanga movement.
Following the death of her father, Nga wai hono i te po was selected as the MÃÂori queen by a wÃÂnanga (forum) of tribal leaders that was convened by the Tekau-mÃÂ-rua. Her coronation took place at Tà «rangawaewae Marae, the seat of the Këngitanga, in a ceremony attended by leaders and dignitaries from across the country and the Pacific. Her accession was seen as a continuation of the Këngitanga's mission to unify MÃÂori people and protect their rights.
Nga wai hono i te po Paki was born on 13 January 1997, the third child and only daughter born to Tà «heitia Paki and his wife Te Atawhai. Her paternal grandmother was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the only previous MÃÂori queen. She has two older brothers, Whatumoana Paki and Korotangi Paki. Te Atairangikaahu was on the annual Tira Hoe Waka canoe journey down the Whanganui River and had stopped for the night at Parikino Marae when she heard that her granddaughter had been born. She asked Whanganui kuia Julie Ranginui for a name for the baby, and together they settled on Nga wai hono i te po (meaning "the waters joining in the night"), referring to the meeting of Waikato River people with Whanganui River people that night. Max Mariu, the first MÃÂori Catholic bishop as Auxiliary Bishop of Wellington, baptised Nga wai hono i te po in Huntly, at the request of Te Atairangikaahu.
MÃÂori is her first language. She has been deeply immersed in MÃÂori culture and traditions from an early age. When Nga wai hono i te po was nine years old, Te Atairangikaahu died and her father became MÃÂori king. Nga wai hono i te po travelled to Taumarunui with her family to receive instruction from priests for Confirmation, and made her first Confession in a chapel at Hopuhopu, near NgÃÂruawÃÂhia. In 2007, she was Confirmed and received First Communion at a Mass during the Koroneihana celebrations on the first anniversary of her father's coronation.
She had her school education at Te Wharekura o Rakaumanga, a year1âÂÂ15 kura kaupapa MÃÂori (MÃÂori-language school) in Huntly. She received a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Waikato. She began teaching kapa haka in her second year at university. She finished a BA in Tikanga MÃÂori and Reo MÃÂori (MÃÂori language) in 2017 and then entered a Masters degree studying Tikanga MÃÂori, which she completed in 2020. She received a moko kauae (chin tattoo) in 2016, at age 19, along with her mother and her cousin Nanaia Mahuta, to celebrate her father's tenth anniversary on the throne.
Nga wai hono i te po started to take a more prominent role in the Këngitanga in her early twenties as she began to represent her father at cultural and political events. In 2022, she met with then Prince Charles in London. She was appointed to the Waitangi National Trust Board in 2020, and appointed to the University of Waikato Council for a four-year term in 2023. She was a board member of the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development. She attended meetings of the Te Kà Âhanga Reo National Trust board as a representative of the king, who was the patron of the trust.
Nga wai hono i te po acceded to the throne at the age of 27, the second-youngest to do so. Her accession was not automatic, as the MÃÂori monarchy is not strictly hereditary. However, her growing prominence in the years preceding her election, including her participation in official engagements and representation of MÃÂori interests, positioned her as a strong candidate. Upon her accession, she was younger than the youngest reigning monarch of a sovereign nation (Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the sovereign Emir of Qatar).
Tà «heitia's death on 30 August 2024 triggered the selection of his successor by a wÃÂnanga (forum) of tribal leaders who choose her by consensus. The wÃÂnanga was convened by the Tekau-mÃÂ-rua (the Këngitanga advisory council), a diverse group of prominent MÃÂori iwi leaders, academics, executives, and politicians from across many iwi, and presided over by Tumu Te Heuheu. The announcement of her selection and her installation took place during the tangihanga (funeral) of her father, Kiingi Tà «heitia, at Tà «rangawaewae Marae. In this ceremony, known as Te Whakawahinga, the Tekau-mÃÂ-rua escorted her to the throne, a Bible was placed on her head, a tradition that dates back to the establishment of the role, and she was anointed by Archbishop Donald Tamihere.
On 22 October 2024, Nga wai hono i te po attended a national hui for unity at Tuahiwi Marae, near Christchurch, focusing on indigenous economies. This was the third in four hui called by her father in response to the National Party-led coalition government's policies towards MÃÂori. On 19 November 2024 in Wellington, she joined tens of thousands of people in the Hëkoi mà  te Tiriti, a nationwide protest against the ACT Party's Treaty Principles Bill.
On 23 January 2025, Nga wai hono i te po made her first visit as MÃÂori Queen to RÃÂtana Pàas part of the annual RÃÂtana church celebrations. On 19 May 2025, Nga wai hono i te po made her first official visit to Whakatà « Marae in the South Island's Marlborough District, where she was welcomed by the leadership of the eight local tribes.
Koroneihana 2025 was the first anniversary of her accession, and was hosted at Tà «rangawaewae marae. 9,000 people attended the ceremony including Te PÃÂti MÃÂori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. During a public address on 5 September, Nga wai hono i te po talked about MÃÂori identity in modern New Zealand. She also launched two economic initiatives: namely a summit to develop economic opportunities for MÃÂori and a seed investment fund supported by MÃÂori entities.
Nga wai hono i te po and New Zealand Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Richard Kay led a New Zealand delegation to Abu Dhabi which met with Emirati Princess Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi to strengthen bilateral cultural and trade relations on 7 October 2025.
On 29 November 2025, she launched a new multimillion dollar MÃÂori investment platform called the "Kotahitanga Fund" at the inaugural Ohanga ki te Ao MÃÂori Economic Summit in Hamilton.