Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
|
|
Royal Mausoleum, located at 2261 Nuuanu Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. It is the resting place of Hawaii's two prominent royal families: the Kamehameha Dynasty and the Kalakaua Dynasty. All of Hawaii's residents consider the Royal Mausoleum as the most sacred burial site in the islands. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.
The three acre (12,000 m²) mausoleum was built by Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma as a burial site for their deceased four-year old son, Prince Albert. The mausoleum was completed in 1865. It was decided that the mausoleum was a more fitting place to bury past monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaii and their families. The bodies were transferred in a solemn ceremony leading from Iolani Palace to the Nuuanu Valley.
Today, Queen Kaahumanu, Kamehameha II and Queen Victoria Kamamalu, Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, Kamehameha V, David Kalakaua, Queen Liliuokalani, and various princes and princesses rest at the Royal Mausoleum. Kamehameha the Great and William C. Lunalilo are the only two kings not resting at the mausoleum. Kamehameha the Great's remains were hidden while William C. Lunalilo, who preferred to be buried in a church cemetery, rests in the courtyard of Kawaiahao Church near Iolani Palace.