Map - Palace - Niue

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name pal?tium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences. Most European languages have a version of the term (palais, palazzo, palacio, etc.), and many use it for a wider range of buildings than English. In many parts of Europe, the equivalent term is also applied to large private houses in cities, especially of the aristocracy; often the term for a large country house is different. Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels, or office buildings. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions such as a movie palace. A palace is distinguished from a castle while the latter clearly is fortified or has the style of a fortification, whereas a palace does not.

Niue (, ; Niu?) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, 2400 km northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about 261 km2 and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. It is 604 kilometres northeast of Tonga. The island is commonly referred to as "The Rock", which comes from the traditional name "Rock of Polynesia". Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands. The terrain of the island has two noticeable levels. The higher level is made up of a limestone cliff running along the coast, with a plateau in the centre of the island reaching approximately 60 metres (200 feet) above sea level. The lower level is a coastal terrace approximately 0.5 km (0.3 miles) wide and about 25–27 metres (80–90 feet) high, which slopes down and meets the sea in small cliffs. A coral reef surrounds the island, with the only major break in the reef being in the central western coast, close to the capital, Alofi.

Niue is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, and New Zealand conducts most diplomatic relations on its behalf. As part of the Realm of New Zealand, Niueans are citizens of New Zealand and Charles III is Niue's head of state in his capacity as King of New Zealand. Between 90% and 95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language. Niue is a bilingual country, with 30% of the population speaking both Niuean and English. The percentage of monolingual English-speaking people is only 11%, while 46% are monolingual Niuean speakers.