A memorial service will be held in Honolulu today to honor Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who died Sunday at 88.

The service is set for 4 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church on 1020 South Beretania St. near the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

King Tupou IV, who ruled 41 years, died after a long, unspecified illness in a New Zealand hospital. His son, Crown Prince Tupouto, immediately ascended the throne. The royal family has ruled with absolute power since tribal groups on more than 170 Polynesian islands united into a single kingdom in 1845. Tupou IV ascended the throne in 1965 after his mother, Queen Salote, died.

For information about the service, call Annie Kaneshiro, the Tongan consulate, at 551-4855.