Sālote was proclaimed Queen on 6 April 1918, following her father's death from tuberculosis the previous day. In 1920–1921, she assisted the
Bernice P. Bishop Museum's
Bayard Dominick Expedition with their mapping of Tongan
archaeological sites by providing access to localities and information. The expedition's reports on the Tongan past—including a large volume of material which still remains unpublished even today—were primarily compiled by
Edward Winslow Gifford and provided the groundwork for comprehensive studies of the pre-contact history of the Tongans (Burley 1998). She was also a keen writer and author of dance songs and love poems, published in 2004, edited by her biographer,
Elizabeth Wood-Ellem. Sālote led Tonga through
World War II, with the islands declaring war on Germany in 1940 and on Japan in 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. She put Tonga's resources at the disposal of Britain and supported the Allied cause throughout the war. Tongan troops saw battle against the Japanese in the
Solomon Islands campaign, including on
Guadalcanal. A key advisor of Sālote's, from 1924 to 1946, was Australian missionary
Rodger Page, who played a key role in the reunification of the
Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, of which she was a member. Owing to his influence on Sālote, Page was described as a form of
power behind the throne by historian
Sione Lātūkefu. She brought Tonga to international attention when, during her sole visit to Europe, she attended the 1953
coronation of Elizabeth II in London. During the coronation procession, it began to rain and hoods were placed on the carriages in the procession. As Tongan custom dictates that one should not imitate the actions of persons one is honouring, she refused a hood and rode through the pouring rain in an open carriage with Sultan
Ibrahim of Kelantan, endearing herself to spectators. She served as Chairman of the Tonga Traditions Committee from 1954 and patronised the
Tonga Red Cross Society. Many Tongans respected and approved of Sālote, seeing her as "tough, hard-working, just, ambitious". She was also very approachable, with her palace doors being open to all. This led to her being very knowledgeable not just of Tongan tradition (in which she was already well-versed prior to her marriage), but also of specific family histories, which are very important in
Tongan culture. She would often assist and impress visiting anthropologists with her detailed knowledge of the culture. == Illness and death ==