The palace was built in the Victorian style - the same style popular in Britain and Australia during the 1800s - but assembled right here in Tonga using timber and iron. From the outside it looks a little like a grand old house on a generous lawn, with a wide veranda running all the way around it and tall windows designed to catch the breeze. It is painted bright white, which makes it gleam in the tropical sunshine.
The palace grounds are open to the public and face the waterfront, so Tongan families often come to picnic on the grass and enjoy the sea view. You can walk around the outside and see the building's detailed wooden decorations - carved balustrades, slatted window shutters, and iron roof cresting that was made overseas and shipped to Tonga more than a century and a half ago.
For Tongan people, this building is an important symbol of their national identity and history. Tonga is the only Pacific island nation that was never fully colonised, and the palace is a reminder of the long line of Tongan leaders who protected that independence. Local children learn about the palace's history in school, and it appears on postcards and in paintings all over the country.