Tongan royals deny allegation late king covered up murder of Australian horse trainer – Royal Central

[ad_1]

By Comet Photo AG (Zrich) – This image is from the collection of ETH-Bibliothek and has been published on Wikimedia Commons in cooperation with Wikimedia CH. Corrections and additional information are welcome., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=100328984

The Tongan royal family has denied claims that the late monarch covered up the murder of an Australian horse trainer.

They reject claims that King Taufaahau Tupou IV covered up the murder of Australian George Brown almost four decades ago.

Brown died in 1984 and his body was found burned in a car near Sydney.

In a statement released by the Tongan royal family, the palace said: “The palace office strongly denies any possible connection with the late His Majesty and Tonga, as the stories claim. “

The Australias Herald Sun newspaper reported that police had received a statement alleging that last bookmaker Bill Waterhouse had hired two Tongans to recover a deposit paid to Brown to organize a race the previous week. It was further stated that the Tongans “went too far and killed the coach”. It was further reported that the late monarch had returned Tongan nationals to Tonga.

Bill Waterhouse was Consul General in Tonga from 1970 to 1995 and had a strong influence on the Australian racing circuit through the Waterhouse dynasty. His daughter, Louise, resumed her duties as Consul General in 1995.

Mr Waterhouse’s widow, Suzanne, also denied the allegations: “There is no truth in the stories about my late husband or about His Majesty and the people of Tonga.”

New South Wales Police have offered a $ 1 million reward for information that helps resolve the case.

King Taufaahau Tupou IV ruled Tonga from December 16, 1965 until his death on September 10, 2006. He previously served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1949 to 1965. His son currently holds the Tonga throne.

Tupou IV’s son, George Tupou V, took over the throne after his father’s death; he reigned until his death on March 18, 2012. George Tupou V’s younger brother, Ahoeitu Tupou VI, is now the monarch.

[ad_2]