Kamamalu

Infobox Hawaiian Royalty
name =Victoria Kamāmalu
title =Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands


imgw =270
reign =20 May 1819 — 8 July 1824
predecessor =
successor =
spouse =Liholiho King Kamehameha II
issue =
full name =Victoria Kamāmalu Kalani-Kuaana-o-Kamehamalu-Kekuaiwa-o- kalani-Kealii-Hoopili-a-Walu
titles ="HM" The Queen
"HRH" The Princess
royal house =House of Kamehameha
Royal House of Maui
royal anthem =
father =King Kamehameha the Great
mother =Queen Kalakua Kaheiheimaile
date of birth =c. 1802
place of birth =Kawaihae, Hawaii
date of death =death date|1824|7|8|df=y
place of death =London, England
place of burial =Mauna Ala Royal Mausoleum|

Victoria Kamāmalu Kalani-Kuaana-o-Kamehamalu-Kekuaiwa-o-kalani-Kealii-Hoopili-a-Walu, Queen Consort of Hawaii and Princess of Hawaii, formally Victoria Kamāmalu (1802 – July 8, 1824) was Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaiokinai alongside her husband Liholiho, who reigned as Kamehameha II. Though she upheld the office of Queen Consort, Kamamalu was overshadowed by her mother-in-law Kaokinaahumanu who ruled with great authority as Queen Regent and "Kuhina Nui", or prime minister. She is not to be confused with another Princess Victoria Kamamalu who was her niece and namesake.

She was the eldest daughter and second child of Queen Kalakua Kaheiheimalie and King Kamehameha I. Kamamalu was short for Kamehamalu signified "The Shade of the Lonely One", honoring her papa Kamehameha the "Lonely One".

Her sister was Elizabeth Kinau who was also wife of Kamehameha II and would become the future Kuhina-Nui after Kaahumanu's death. She was also half-sister of Miriam Auhea Kekauluohi through their mother Kalakua Kaheiheimalie and she was another wife of her husband. Even though her husband had four other wives, (two of them being her sister and the two other being her nieces) she was her husband's favorite wife.

The car of state, in which she joined a procession honoring her husband accession to the throne was a elegantly modeled whaleboat. It was fastened firmly to a platform or frame of light spars, thirty feet long by twelve wide; and borne on the heads and shoulders of seventy men. The boat was lined and the whole platform covered, first with fine imported broadcloth, and then with beautiful patterns of atpa or native cloth, of a variety of figures and rich colors. The men supporting the whole were formed into a solid body, so that the outer row only at the sides and ends were seen; and all forming theses wore the splendid scarlet and yellow feather cloaks and helmets and than which scarce anything can appear more superb. The only dress of the queen was a scarlet silk "pau", or native petticoat, and a coronet of feathers. She was seated in the middle of the boat, and screened from the sun by an immense Chinese umbrella of scarlet damask, richly ornamented with gilding, fringe, and tassels, and supported by a chief standing behind her in a scarlet "malo" or girdle, and feather helmet. On one quarter of the boat stood Prime Minister Kalanimoku, and on the other Naihe, the national orator. Both also in "malos" of scarlet silk and helmets of feathers and each bearing a "kahili" or feather staff of state, nearly thirty feet in height. The upper parts of these "kahilis" were of scarlet feathers so ingeniously and so beautifully arranged on the artificial branches attached to the staff as to form cylinders fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter and twelve or fourteen feet long; the lower parts or handles were covered with alternative rings of tortoise-shell and ivory, of neatest workmanship and highest polish. [Residence in the Sandwich Islands By Charles Samuel Stewart. Page 92-93]

Queen Kamamalu had a tattoo applied to her tongue as an expression of her deep grief when her mother-in-law died in the 1820s. Which of her mothers-in-law we do not know but we can infer it was probably Keopuolani. Missionary William Ellis watched the procedure, commenting to the queen that she must be undergoing great pain. The queen replied, "He eha nui no, he nui roa ra ku‘u aroha." (Great pain indeed, greater is my affection.)

In 1824, both Kamehameha II and Kamamalu travelled to the United Kingdom for a state visit with King George IV. Upon reaching London the royal party were fitted with the latest fashion and it gave her an air of native majesty. Many ladies of London sought the patterns of the turban that adorned her head. She attracted much attention to herself because she stood over six feet tall and was strikingly beautiful. She and her husband were the first Hawaiians to visit England. While in London, Kamamalu contracted measles and died on July 8. Six days later her grief-stricken husband also died. Their royal bodies were placed in coffins and taken back to Hawaii. At first, she and her husband were buried in a coral house on the grounds of the Iolani Palace, but were later moved because of the lack of space. Kamamalu is now buried in Nuokinauanu Valley on the island of Ookinaahu at the Royal Mausoleum. Her last words were," Im going now... where the mansions are ready."

Reference

* Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell. Woman's Record: Or, Sketches of All Distinguished Women, from "the Beginning" till A.D. 1850. . Harper and Brother, Publishers: Harper and Brother, Publishers, 1853.

External links

* [http://www.hawaiihistory.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=278&returntoname=Short%20Stories&returntopageid=483 Liholiho and Kamamalu die in London]
* [http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/9429/mcms.html Picture History Kamamalu]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10957 Queen Kamamalu] at Find a Grave
* [http://www.huapala.org/Chants/Pua_Hau_Maleka.html Pua Hau O Maleka (Fair Blossom of America) - Chant for Kamamalu]