Queen Kapiolani

Kapiʻolani
Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands
Tenure	12 February 1874 — 20 January 1891
Spouse	Prince Bennett Namekeha King David Kalākaua (as Queen)
Full name
Esther Julia Kapiʻolani or Esther Julia Kapiʻolani Napelakapuokakaʻe
Father	High Chief Kuhio Kalanianaʻole of Hilo
Mother	Princess Kekaulike Kinoiki of Kauaʻi
Born	31 December 1834(1834-12-31) Hilo, Hawaiʻi
Died	24 June 1899 (aged 64) Pualeilani, Waikīkī
Burial	Mauna Ala Royal Mausoleum

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Kapiʻolani, Queen Consort of Hawaiʻi (December 31, 1834 – June 24, 1899) formally Esther Julia Kapiʻolani or Esther Julia Kapiʻolani Napelakapuokakaʻe, was married to King David Kalākaua and reigned as Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

She was the granddaughter of Kaumualiʻi, the last king of the island of Kauaʻi before being ceded to the unified Hawaiian Islands governed by Kamehameha the Great. She was also the stepdaughter of Queen Regent Kaʻahumanu. Her first marriage was to High Chief Benjamin Namakehaokalani or sometimes called Bennet Namakeha. He was a son of Kealiʻimaikaʻi, brother of Kamehameha the Great. He was 35 years older than Kapiʻolani. He was uncle of Queen Emma on her father George Naea's side. This made her the widowed aunt of Queen Emma. Aliʻi Kapiʻolani was the caretaker of Haku O Hawaiʻi, Prince Albert, baby of Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. At the death of four year old Prince Albert, Aliʻi Kapiʻolani writes of her great grief and self-blame over the baby's death to Queen Emma. Queen Emma tells Aliʻi Kapiʻolani that the child was as Kapiʻolani's own, there could be no blame for one who loved the Prince so well.

Aliʻi Kapiʻolani married Kalākaua in a quiet ceremony due to respect for the passing of Kamehameha IV. She and Kalākaua were childless so she and her sister Poʻomaikelani hanaied (adopted) their sister Victoria Kinoiki Kekaulike's three sons. Kapiʻolani took David and Jonah and Poomaikelani took Edward. David established the House of Kawananakoa which would eventually succeed the House of Kalākaua.^{[citation needed]}

In 1887, Queen Kapiʻolani traveled to London to attend Queen Victoria's 50th Jubilee celebration. Princess Liliʻuokalani, King Kalākaua's sister traveled with Queen Kapiʻolani. The Hawaiian Royal family were treated as dignitaries, and were seated with the British Royal family in the front of Westminster Abbey.

Queen Kapiʻolani established the Kapiʻolani Maternity Home, where Hawaiian mothers could receive care, as well as their newborn babies. It survives today as the Kapiʻolani Medical Center. Kapi'olani Park in Waikiki was named after the Queen by her husband, Mo'i (King) Kalākaua. One of her noted compositions to Hawaiian music was a love song she wrote for the Mo'i, her husband, Ka Ipo Lei Manu. The Mo'i died in San Francisco before he could hear the musical composition from his Queen. After missionaries arrived in Hawaiʻi, between 1820 and 1840, a law was passed requiring all Hawaiian people to have an English first name. Kapiʻolani had the name Julia as her first name. In Hawaiian, Julia is "Kulia"; therefore, the beginning of her personal motto, "Kulia I Ka Nuu"; "Strive for the Highest".^{[citation needed]}

Death

Shortly after the death of her beloved husband, Mo'i Kalākaua, Queen Kapiʻolani retired to her home in Waikīkī, dying there at age 64.

External links

• Honolulu Advertiser Queen Kapiolani
• Queen Kapiolani of Hawaii