Princess Kaʻiulani, the Island Rose

Members of the Ka’ahumanu Society, left to right, Kaui Kapuni Manera, Momi Makamae and Lesley Sambajon, sang at the E Ho’omana’o event at Molokai Library Oct. 28. Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

She was a surfer, an artist and a writer. She spoke four languages. She was a princess and the heir to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom, a nation stolen by the descendants of the people the Hawaiians had welcomed with their aloha.  

“The missionaries came here to us and taught us to look to Heaven for happiness, and while our eyes were on the skies they have taken our land from under our feet,” Princess Kaʻiulani said in an interview to The San Francisco Call newspaper Aug. 7, 1898.

Awaiulu head researcher Kalei Roberts highlighted the life of Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani Kawēkiu i Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Cleghorn during October’s E Hoʻomanaʻo series event at Molokai Public Library Oct. 28. Though she lived a short life, she became one of the most photographed and admired members of the 19th century Hawaiian monarchy.

“We are here today to celebrate Victoria Kaʻiulani Cleghorn, who left us at 23 years old,” Roberts told a couple dozen people attending the event, including members of the Kaʻahumanu Society, Molokai Chapter 8 and Alu Like Kupuna Program. 

Princess Kaʻiulani was born on Oct. 16, 1875 in Honolulu. She was the daughter of Princess Miriam Likelike and Scottish businessman Archibald Scott Cleghorn. 

From a young age, she learned several languages, and was fluent in Hawaiian, English, French and German. She was a talented artist, and a few of her surviving paintings can be found in collections in Hawaii. 

The princess loved riding horses, swimming, biking, dancing and surfing in Waikiki. A koa surfboard that belonged to her is on display at the Bishop Museum on Oahu.

Scottish writer Robert Lewis Stevenson was the stepfather of Likelike’s lady-in-waiting. A friend of Princess Kaʻiulani and King Kalākaua, her uncle, Stevenson composed a poem for the princess in 1889, where he called her “the island rose.”

After King Kalākaua died on Jan. 20, 1891, his sister Liliʻuokalani became Hawaii’s queen and last ruling monarch. Those were troubling times for the Hawaiian monarchy, which ruled under a lot of influence and pressure from foreigners inside the government. The monarchy was overthrown by a coup d’etat on Jan. 17, 1893 led by seven foreigners and six Hawaiian citizens of American descent. 

Princess Kaʻiulani had lost her mother at only 11 years old, and two years later, she left Hawaii to study in Europe. When Queen Liliʻuokalani was deposed, Princess Kaʻiulani, not yet 18 years old, was in England. 

In Europe, Princess Kaʻiulani was under the guardianship of British businessman and Hawaiian sugar investor Theo H. Davies. Following the overthrow of the monarchy, Davies and his family brought Kaʻiulani to the United States to pledge the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom. 

 In the U.S., Princess Kaʻiulani visited New York, Boston and Washington D.C. She made public speeches and appearances denouncing the coup d’etat that overthrew the monarchy. In Washington, D.C., she had an informal visit with President Grover Cleveland and his wife.  

Because of the uncertain political realm in Hawaii, Princess Kaʻiulani’s father advised her to go back to Europe rather than coming back to Hawaii, as much as he wanted her home. In 1895, Cleghorn joined his daughter in Europe. For two years, they visited European aristocracy, family and friends across France, England, Wales and Scotland. 

In 1897, father and daughter toured the U.S. before returning to Hawaii. During their travels in the U.S., Princess Kaʻiulani’s intelligence, charm, manners, beauty and exotic looks fascinated people wherever she went. 

In Hawaii, Princess Kaʻiulani moved back to her childhood home in Waikiki, on a estate called ʻĀinahau. She continued to make public appearances and attend events, even though she didn’t have a political status. 

On Aug. 12, 1898, an annexation ceremony was held at ‘Iolani Palace. Princess Kaʻiulani and Queen Liliʻuokalani boycotted the ceremony along with family members and royalists. The Republican government invited the princess to the annexation ball, but she refused. 

In an interview to the San Francisco Chronicle, Princess Kaʻiulani said, “When the news of annexation came it was bitterer than death to me. It was bad enough to lose the throne, but infinitely worse to have the (Hawaiian) flag go down.”

In January 1899, Princess Kaʻiulani was on an extended visit to the Big Island. While on a horseback ride with others, a sudden weather change caught her without a coat. She kept riding through the rain, and later that day, she fell ill. 

The princess’ illness lingered for two weeks, and her father sailed to the Big Island and took her back home to Honolulu. Princess Kaʻiulani was so sick that when she arrived by boat in Honolulu, she had to be carried out on a stretcher. Their family doctor said she had inflammatory rheumatism. 

On March 6, 1899, at the ripe age of 23, Princess Kaʻiulani died at home. According to her doctor, she died of inflammatory rheumatism, despite the rumors circulated shortly after that she died of a broken heart. 

During Princess Kaʻiulani’s funeral procession six days later, the streets of Honolulu were lined with 20,000 people — more than two-thirds of Honolulu’s population at the time. 

She was interred at the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii, the same place her mother and other members of the Hawaiian monarchy were interred. In 1910, the mausoleum was converted to a chapel, and her remains were transferred to the underground Kalākaua Crypt. Clegorn died in 1910, and was interred in the crypt as well. 

Awaiulu is a nonprofit organization dedicated to develop resources to bridge Hawaiian knowledge from the past to the present and the future. 

The E Hoʻomanaʻo program started in late 2023, highlighting a Hawaii chief or leading figure on the last Tuesday of every month. The program was envisioned by Mercy Ritte.

Sponsors and partners of the E Hoʻomanao program include Awaiulu, Kaiāulu, Kaneokana, Molokai Middle School’s Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, ʻĀina Momona, Alu Like and Rooted. 

Visit https://www.librarieshawaii.org/branch/molokai-public-library/ to stay updated on the library’s events.