A happy and chatty 4-year-old girl was farewelled in a touching ceremony yesterday. Hundreds celebrated the life of Lila Kalolaine Lausi'i Tupou, known affectionately as Princess Lila.
She died "peacefully, in her father's arms", read the death notice, after complications related to asthma.
Lila, who has a twin sister, Tania, is the granddaughter of prominent lawyer Harry Waalkens QC, appointed Lord Chancellor of Tonga in 2011. She is understood to have royal blood from her Tongan grandmother, Kerry Waalkens.
Lila's mother, Ana Waalkens, and father, Isi Tupou, spoke at the service at King's School in Remuera, where Lila's brothers Bruno and Sebastian attend.
Her parents paid tribute to their daughter's "special and short" life. Tupou said he believed heaven would be "draped in pink" for his little girl's arrival.