Gibbons lists Tonga in the "Commonwealth & British Empire Stamps" catalogue. Scott states that Tonga is a kingdom in the British Commonwealth.
Tonga was a protected state that governed itself under the Treaty of Friendship it had with Great Britain. That treaty terminated in 1970 when Tonga became a self-governing nation in the British Commonwealth, similar to Malaysia, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
Ok, so not a Commonwealth nation in the strictest sense, having never been a British dependency, but joined the Commonwealth of nations in 1970 as a self-governing nation. Thanks.
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Tonga was a protected state that governed itself under the Treaty of Friendship it had with Great Britain. That treaty terminated in 1970 when Tonga became a self-governing nation in the British Commonwealth, similar to Malaysia, Lesotho, and Swaziland.