Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
We know the American state of Hawaii as a tropical paradise with beautiful beaches and the original home of surfing. Less known is that Hawaii was, for nearly 100 years, an independent kingdom. United in 1795 by its first monarch, King Kamehameha I, known as “The Great”. There were eight monarchs until the Kingdom’s overthrow in 1893 – the last monarch being its only reigning queen – Liliuokalani.
She was born Lydia Liliu Loloku Walania Kamakaeha on 2 September 1838 in Honolulu. Her mother, Analea Keohokalole and her father, Caesar Kapaakea were members of the Hawaiian nobility and were collateral relations of the Royal House of Kamehameha. King Kamehameha III recognised Liliuokalani and her siblings as heirs to the Hawaiian throne, and at the age of four, she was sent to study with other recognised royal heirs at the Chief’s Children’s School.