New Zealand's Maori King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died on August 30 morning surrounded by his wife and three children. He was 69, Report informs referring to the Independent.
The monarch was admitted to a hospital, where he underwent heart surgery just days after the 18th anniversary of his coronation.
"The death of Kiingi Tuheitia is a moment of great sadness for followers of Te Kiingitanga, Maoridom and the entire nation," spokesperson Rahui Papa said in a statement.
King Charles III said he was “profoundly saddened” by the death of the decades-long friend to the British royal family. Charles said news of King Tuheitia’s death “is a particular shock”, with the two having shared a long friendship.
The king was born Tuheitia Paki in 1955 and succeeded his mother, Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, in 2006. "I believe the future is a new horizon where Maori take the lead," he said at the celebration of his coronation anniversary earlier this month.
"Let's keep pushing forward while we are currently facing a storm, there's no need to worry. In this storm we are strong. Together. The wind in our sails is unity, and with that we will reach our destination," he added.
The Maori king 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.
The King Movement, or Kiingitanga, originated in 1858 in an attempt to unite the indigenous tribes of New Zealand under a single leader to strengthen their resistance to colonialism.
The role of the monarch is not necessarily hereditary and the new leader will be appointed by heads of tribes associated with the King Movement on the day of King Tuheitia's funeral but before he is buried, according to Radio New Zealand.