America's Last Queen

"Farewell to you, farewell to you, (Aloha Oe, aloha oe). O fragrance of one how dwells in the blue depth. One fond embrace, until I return. Until we meet again." Queen Liliuokalani.

Like her statue, the real Lilioukalani was some what larger than life. She born Lydia Paki Kamekeeha Liliuokalani on September 2, 1838, the third of then children of high alii Kapaakea and his wife, Keohokalole: Her older brother was David Kalakaua, who later became king.

She was immediately hanaied (adopted) at birth by alii Abner Paki and his wife Konia, in a gesture of goodwill. One of the things that make Hawaii unique among American states is the fact that it was a genuine kingdom before it ever became part of the United States. Downtown Honolulu retains several reminders of the monarchy, among these was the stately Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on American soil today. Across the way stands the massive statue of King Kamehameha the Great, Hawaii's first King, and the residence of the last monarchs, Washington Place, broods nearby. In addition, a statue of Hawaii’s last Queen, Liliuokalani, graces the mall between the statehouse and the Palace grounds.

By age 4, she was enrolled in the Royal School, where she became fluent in English and was exposed to Congregationalist doctrine. She later joined the court of Kamehameha IV and his Queen, Emma. At age 24 she married haole John Owen Dominis, who later served as governor of Oahu and Maui.

After the death of Prince William Leleiohoku in 1877, King Kalakaua named Liliuokalani his heir. She ruled ably as regent during his globetrotting trip of 1881, when he traveled to other royal courts around the world, seeking to study how other rulers ruled. Unfortunately, the monarchy she was to rule soon suffered a fatal blow: in 1887, an armed group supporting annexation of Hawaii to the United States forced the King to enact a constitution that severely limited the power of the monarchy. The King remained in place as a figurehead, but soon his health began to fail. He died in 1891, leaving the throne to Liliuokalani. Her husband died soon afterward.

One of Liliuokalani's first acts after assuming the throne was to enact a new constitution that restored the royal powers usurped by the so-called Bayonet Constitution—the first salvo in her battle to reinstate the sovereignty of the Hawaiian monarchy. She solidified her power by repeatedly replacing the entire government and disenfranchising many of those previously allowed to vote, which greatly angered her opponents. On January 14, 1893, American sailors and marines came ashore at Honolulu, in an action that ultimately resulted in the overthrow of the monarchy on January 17. Liliuokalani retired under protest to Washington Place.

On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was declared, with pineapple magnate Sanford Dole as its president. American recognition followed immediately thereafter. After an aborted royalist attempt to restore the monarchy in January 1895, firearms were found in the royal gardens and Queen Liliuokalani was arrested, though she denied any knowledge of the weapons. Nonetheless, she was imprisoned in a small room in Iolani Palace until 1896, whereupon she was allowed to return to Washington Place, her home for the rest of her life, where she died in 1917 due to complications of a stroke.

Queen Liliuokalani published a book, Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen, in 1898, the same year that Hawaii was annexed to the United States. She also gained fame as the songwriter of the haunting anthem “Aloha ‘Oe,” which is familiar to all Hawaiians and tourists.