[1] Approximately fifty years later, English Wesleyan Methodist missionaries came to Tonga and began converting its people to Christianity.

[2] According to Whitney Smith (Flags and Arms across the World, Maidenhead 1980) the chief designer was Prince Uelingatoni Ngu Tupoumalohi.

The red couped cross alludes to Christianity,[3] the religion practised by approximately 97% of the country's population.

[7] The white epitomizes purity,[4][6] while the red evokes the sacrifice of the Blood of Christ, which was shed during the Crucifixion.

[3][4][6] The previous design of the flag featured a plain white field charged with the red couped cross.