House of Kalākaua
| Kalākaua | |
|---|---|
| File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii.svg | |
| Parent house | House of Keawe |
| Country | Kingdom of Hawaiʻi |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Founder | Kalākaua |
| Current head | extinct |
| Final ruler | Liliʻuokalani |
| Titles | King, Queen, Prince, Princess, Aliʻi |
| Dissolution | 1917 |
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The House of Kalākaua, or the Kalākaua Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi between the assumption of David Kalākaua to the throne in 1874 and the overthrow of Liliʻuokalani in 1893. Liliʻuokalani died in 1917, leaving only cousins as heirs. The House of Kalākaua was descended from a family of chiefs on the island of Kauaʻi, and ascended to the royal throne by election when the males of the House of Kamehameha died out.
Origin of the House
The dynasty was founded by Kalākaua but included his brothers and sisters who were children of High Chieftess Analea Keohokalole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea. Through Kapaʻakea's paternal grandmother Alapa'iwahine he was great-great-grandon of Chief Keaweikekahiali`iokamoku the great-grandfather (through another son) of Kamehameha I. Through Kapaʻakea's paternal grandfather Kepoʻokalani (who was also Analea's grandfather) he was descended from one of the nian pio royal twins Kame'eiamoku. Analea was great-great-granddaughter of Chief Keaweikekahiali`iokamoku on her mother Kamaʻeokalani's side and on her father Aikanaka's father and mother's side she was and descendant of High Chief Haʻae-a-Mahi the father of Kekuʻiʻapowa (the mother of Kamehameha). Also on her father's side she is descendant of Keaweaheulu. They were descended from many of the collateral cousins of the Kamehameha I.
Rise to Power
At the time of Kamehameha V's death in 1872 the male line of Kamehameha had gone extinct leaving Lunalilo and Kalākaua the only male relatives of the Kamehameha Dynasty. Lunalilo who had higher blood was victorious in the 1873 election. But by 1874 after Lunalilo's death Kalākaua was the closest male relative to Kamehameha, since the only remaining Kamehamehas were Ruth Keelikolani and Bernice Pauahi Bishop and the only remaining descendants of Kamehameha's brothers Emma Rooke, Elizabeth Kekaaniau and Theresa Owana Laanui were all female.
Choosing an heir
King Kalākaua was frustrated by royal elections of 1873 and 1874 and wanted to them in the future. He first appointed his youngest brother Prince Leleiohoku as his successor. William Leleiohoku, however, died in 1877. Kalākaua then appointed several heirs, in order to avoid royal election: He elevated several (though not all) members of Hawaiian nobility to Princes and Princesses, Royal Highnesses, and decreed an order of succession that comprised several royals. His first heir was to be his elder sister, then princess Liliʻuokalani, the their sister princess Likelike, then her daughter princess Kaʻiulani, then their cousin princess Kuhio Kinoike Kekaulike (governess of Kauaʻi), and her three sons, all royal highnesses.
The most important events during the reign of the House of Kalākaua were the promulgation of the Bayonet Constitution, and the overthrow of the kingdom by the Committee of Safety led by former Interior Minister Lorrin A. Thurston.
Fall of the House of Kalākaua
With the deposition of queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893 the House of Kalākaua ceased to reign, and the death of the Princess Victoria Kaiulani in 1899 meant the loss of the last direct heir of the siblings of the reigning monarchs of House of Kalākaua. The main line of the dynasty thus ceased to exist when the deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani (who also afterwards had abdicated and renounced) died in 1917. Their cousins came to be known as the House of Kawananakoa, a branch of the House of Kalākaua, since they are relatives and appointed heirs of the original king Kalakaua, descended from the royal heir Prince Kawananakoa, eldest son of the princess Kuhio Kinoike Kekaulike, who had died in 1908. The House of Kawananakoa survives today and at least two of its members have claims to the throne should the Hawaiian monarchy be revived in some form.
House of Kalākaua Members
- King David Kalākaua (1836–1891)
- Queen Liliʻuokalani (1839–1893)
- Crown Princess Victoria Kaiulani (1875–1899)
- Crown Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku (1854–1877)
- Princess Miriam Likelike (1851–1887)
- Princess Kaiminaauao (1844–1848)
- Prince James Kaliokalani (1835–1852)
- Prince Kinini (?–died young)
- Prince Moses (1834–died young)
- High Chief Kapaakea (1815–1866)
- High Chief Keohokalole (1816–1869)