Dame Te Atairangikaahu (23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) was the Māori queen for 40 years, the longest reign of any Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Her title Te Arikinui (meaning Paramount Chief) and name Te Atairangikaahu (meaning the hawk of the morning sky) were bestowed when she became monarch; previously she was known as Princess Piki Mahuta and, after marriage, Princess Piki Paki. Life She was born to the name Pikimene Korokī Mahuta within the marriage of Korokī Mahuta and Te Atairangikaahu Hērangi; Koroki Mahuta fathered older daughters, Tuura the younger of two, both by Tepaia an earlier relationship. Te Atairangikaahu had adopted siblings including Sir Robert Mahuta, whose daughter Nanaia Mahuta served as a member of Parliament, customs minister, and in 2020 serves as foreign minister in Jacinda Ardern's cabinet. She was a descendant of the first Māori king, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, and succeeded, King Korokī, becoming queen the day Korokī was buried. She attended Rakaumanga Primary School and Waikato Diocesan School for Girls. In 1952, she married Whatumoana Paki, whose father was from Waikato tribe Ngāti Whāwhākia and mother from the northern tribe of Te Aupōuri. They had seven children: Tuheitia Paki, Heeni Katipa (née Paki), Tomairangi Paki, Kiki Solomon (née Paki), Mihi Gabrielle Paki, Maharaia Paki, and Te Manawanui Clarkson (née Paki). In the 1970 New Year Honours, Te Atairangikaahu was the first Māori to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, "for outstanding services to the Māori people". On 6 February 1987, Te Atairangikaahu was the first appointee to the Order of New Zealand. and her badge of the order bears the number 1. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Waikato University in 1973, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Victoria University in 1999. In 1986 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of St John. She was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and in 1993, she was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In December 2005, she started dialysis treatment when her kidneys began to fail. On 11 July 2006, she suffered what appeared to be a heart attack, and was admitted to intensive care in Waikato Hospital, Hamilton. She was discharged from hospital later in the month, in time to celebrate her 75th birthday. Death Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died on 15