Kalama

Infobox Hawaiian Royalty
name =Kalama
title =Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Island


imgw =270
reign =2 February 1837 – 15 December 1854
coronation =
spouse =Kamehameha III of the Hawaiian Islands
issue =Prince Keawe Aweokinaula-o-Kalani Prince Keawe Awe'ula-o-Kalani II
full name =Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili
titles ="HM" Queen Kalama
"HM" The Queen
"HRH" The Queen Dowager
royal house =House of Kamehameha
father =High Chief Naihekukui
mother =High Chieftess I'ahu'ula
date of birth =birth date|1817|3|17|df=y
place of birth =Ka'elehulu near Kailua,Hawaii,
date of death =Death date and age|1870|9|30|1817|3|17|df=yes
place of death =Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, Queen Consort of Hawaiokinai (1817–1870) reigned as Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaiokinai alongside her husband, Kauikeaouli, who reigned as Kamehameha III.

Early life

She was born in 1817 as the daughter of Naihekukui, a minor Kona chief and Chieftess I'ahu'ula. Her father was commander of the native Hawaiian fleet at Honolulu. Her mother was the younger sister of Charles Kanaina who she was "hanai" (adopted) to. She was a woman of stunning beauty but consider a "maka'ainana" (commoner) rather than an "ali'i" (chief).

Marriage

It was due to her uncle's friendship with Kamehameha II, she met and associated with the royal family. The young Kamehameha III, the boy king at the time, was needing a suitable royal bride. Many of the traditional chiefs wanted a union between the king and his sister Nahienaena, like it had been customary to in the Hawaiian court since the beginning of time. But the overall missionaries and Christian chiefs, who held the most political power, opposed this suggestion, calling it incest. Kamanele, the daughter of Governor John Adams Kuakini, was proposed as the most suitable, as to age, rank, and education. Kamehameha preferred another. The young king fell in love with Kalama. This angered his sister Kinau and many of the high chiefs. Kamehameha III married her on February 2, 1837. This was only a few months after Nahienaena's death. [A Residence of Twenty-one Years in the Sandwich By Hiram Bingham: Chapter XVII]

Queen

Though charged with the title of Queen Consort, she was overshadowed by the great authority wielded by her mother-in-law, Kaokinaahumanu, and sister-in-law, Kīnaokinau, both having the authority of Queen Regent because Kamehameha III had come to power only at the age of ten when his brother Kamehameha II died of measles in England.

Children

She and Kamehaemnha III had two children who died in their infancy. Both were named Keaweaweulaokalani, after their father.

It was said by Kekauluohi and believed by some that she secretly caused the death of her two sons. It was because she was a common Hawaiian woman wholly without rank or chiefly blood. She and Kamehameha III would later hanaied (adopt) their nephew Alexander Liholiho who later became Kamehameha IV. She adopted Kaiminaauao daughter of Analea Keohokalole and Caesar Kapaakea as her own. She also adopted her husband's illegitimate son Albert Kuka'ilimoku Kunuiakea by Jane Lahilahi Young.

Later life

She would outlive both Kamehameha III and her nephew.She would become Queen Dowager of Hawaii. She met Prince Alfred on his visit to Hawaii in the reign of Kamehameha V. She drove out to Waikiki in her own carriage of state, accompanied by her adopted son, Kunuiakea, and Miriam Likelike. The drivers of these carriages wore the royal feather shoulder capes, and the footmen were clad in like royal fashion. It was considered one of the grandest occasions in the history of those days. She died on September 20 1870, in Honolulu,Oahu,Hawaii at the age of 53 having died only 2 years before the end of the Kamehamehas' reign over Hawaii. September 21 US forces placed the American flag at half mast upon the death of Queen Kalama, when the American consul at Honolulu would not assume responsibility for so doing Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen written by Liliuokalani.

She and her husband would spend time in their summer palace.Hakaleleponi Gate an entrance for servants and attendants in Iolani Palace is named after her.

External links

* [http://www.bishopmuseum.org/exhibits/pastExhibits/1997/treasures/html/FAMILY.html Portrait of Royal Family of Hawaii at Bishop Museum]
* [http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/9414/mcms.html Picture History: Queen Dowager Kalama of Hawaii]
* [http://starbulletin.com/2001/10/08/features/story1.html Fashion of the Hawaiian Queens]

References