STORY: ::Whakaata Maori::September 5, 2024::The late Maori King’s daughter takes on the role of Queen at his funeral::Ngaruawahia, New ZealandA statement released by representatives said Nga Wai Hono i te Po had been chosen by Maori elders to replace her father, King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died aged 69 last week following surgery.Thousands gathered at Tuurangawaewae, the meeting place of the King movement, to bid farewell to the King in a traditional funeral. King Tuheitia was buried following the anointment of his daughter in an elaborate ceremony which saw him taken to the Waikato River by a hearse before being paddled in a flotilla of traditional Maori waka or canoe to Taupiri Mountain where he will be buried alongside other royals and high-profile Maori.The Maori King or Queen is considered the paramount chief of several tribes, or iwi, but is not affiliated with all of them. The monarch's role has no judicial or legal authority in New Zealand and is largely ceremonial.