Thousands are paying their respects to Kiingi Tuheitia at Tuurangawaewae Marae on Saturday.
Among them, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who paid an emotional tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia, a leader he greatly respected.
He says Kiingi Tuheitia brought positivity and optimism to his work, wielded his mana with patience and humility, and his leadership and aroha will never be forgotten.
"The best leaders are those that carry themselves with personal humility, but also have massive professional determination as well, and he had massive determination around a central organising idea, which was kotahitanga, but he did it all without ego, and with humility.
Tuheitia was a keen observer of the games being played, and had a wicked sense of humour, but was always focused on the end goal of unity, Luxon said.
"I've seen a lot of leaders around the world, and he was a leader I've always admired and respected ... it was his personal humility that gave him huge amounts of influence with people."
Tainui have built a strong economic engine in recent years, and are using it for the social good of the people, which was impressive and the right thing to do, Luxon said.
The Māori king died in hospital in the early hours of Friday morning after heart surgery.
His body was then taken to the marae, where it will lie in state for at least five days before being buried on Taupiri mountain.
Tainui would be looking after the kiingitanga over the next few days, with the new monarch likely to be crowned on the final day of Kiingi Tuheitia's tangi.
Follow what happened during the day, on RNZ's blog here: