A Tongan royal residence in Auckland will remain the state's property after the King gave in to protestors' demands and withdrew his bid to sell up.
The 1-point-6 hectare Epsom estate was bought in 1952 and is now valued at up to seven to 8 million US dollars.
King George Tupou the fifth tried to sell the house last year but a group of Tongans lodged a High Court caveat, protecting the property.
A lawyer for the group, Joel Fotu, says the King challenged the caveat but has now withdrawn his legal action.
Mr Fotu says the King was given advice that the property was purchased by his grandmother, Queen Salote, but extensive research showed the purchase was actually made using state funds.
He says it is up to the Tongan Government to decide what it wants to do with the estate.
