Kaʿiulani

Kaʿiulani (born October 16, 1875, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii [now Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.]—died March 6, 1899, Waikiki [now in Honolulu]) was the final heir apparent to the Hawaiian throne.

Princess Kaʿiulani was the only child of Scottish businessman Archibald Scott Cleghorn and Princess Miriam Likelike. Likelike was the sister of King Kalakaua and of the future queen Liliuokalani, both of whom were childless, making it probable that Ka‘iulani would eventually ascend the Hawaiian throne.

When Ka‘iulani was three, though she had been born in Honolulu, her parents moved to an estate in Waikiki named Ainahau, which had been given to Ka‘iulani by another member of the royal family. Her childhood was by all accounts idyllic: she reveled in outdoor sports—particularly horseback riding—and games and developed interests in music and the arts. Her parents entertained many guests in the family home and were prominent members of the local social elite.

Princess Likelike died unexpectedly in 1887 when Kaʿiulani was 11 years old. Ka‘iulani was now technically second in line for the throne (after Liliuokalani), but circumstances made her eventual ascent to it extremely likely.

To ensure that Ka‘iulani would be a capable ruler at a critical time in Hawaiian history—given the increasing Americanization of the islands and the ongoing erosion of the royal family’s power—she was sent to England in 1889 to receive a European education. Before she left Hawaii, Robert Louis Stevenson—a friend of the family who was visiting Hawaii at the time—wrote her a poem. After traveling to Britain with her elder half sister, Annie Cleghorn, Ka‘iulani enrolled in school at Great Harrowden Hall in Northamptonshire under the guardianship of her father’s friend Theophilus H. Davies and his wife Mary.

Ka‘iulani’s transition to living in England was very difficult, as she had within a short time period both lost her mother and left the only home she had ever known. In 1891 King Kalakaua died. His sister Queen Liliuokalani became Hawaii’s first queen, and Ka‘iulani became the heir presumptive. Ka‘iulani had by this time adapted to her new life in Europe, enjoying social engagements with her peers and traveling to various European destinations. Ka‘iulani particularly enjoyed visiting art museums and developed her own painting skills during these years.

Ka‘iulani left school in 1892 and moved to Brighton to be educated by private tutors. In 1893 Liliuokalani was deposed by American sugar planters, and Hawaii was taken over by a provisional government. At age 17 Ka‘iulani made the difficult decision to travel to the United States with Davies to ask Pres. Grover Cleveland to intervene.

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Arriving in New York, Ka‘iulani made a positive impression on reporters. The provisional Hawaiian government and its allies were advancing a racist narrative of the necessity for American annexation and the unfitness of Hawaiians, particularly the royal family, for self-governance. Ka‘iulani undermined this narrative: she was well-spoken and beautiful, displaying the education of a European aristocrat and a natural charm that fueled admiring press coverage throughout her trip.

Shortly after Cleveland’s inauguration in March 1893, Ka‘iulani was welcomed by the new president and his wife, Frances Cleveland, both of whom were very impressed by her and her petition. Before meeting Ka‘iulani, Grover Cleveland had withdrawn from Congress a treaty put forth by previous president Benjamin Harrison that would have annexed Hawaii and announced that he would send Georgia Congressman James Blount to investigate the political situation in Hawaii. Satisfied with Cleveland’s actions, Ka‘iulani returned to England and then Europe.

In his report, Blount found that the provisional government had little support among Native Hawaiians and recommended that the provisional government step down and return power to Queen Liliuokalani. However, the provisional government maintained its hold on power and pressured Queen Liliuokalani into abdicating in 1895. When William McKinley became president in 1897, Hawaii was formally annexed, and all prospects that Ka‘iulani would inherit the throne vanished.

Ka‘iulani returned from Europe to her home in Ainahau in 1897 to live with her father. She enjoyed taking up her old hobbies and entertaining local society but had been troubled by poor health and migraines in the years since the coup. Ka‘iulani’s future plans were suspended when she became ill at the beginning of 1899, and in March of that year she died of inflammatory rheumatism at the age of 23.

In the decades after her death, Ka‘iulani became a celebrated figure in Hawaiian history. In more recent years, Ka‘iulani’s tragedy has generally been downplayed in favor of celebrating her life. She is often presented as a heroic figure who braved public exposure at a young age to stand up to an abuse of power.