Victoria Kaiulani
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Victoria Ka‘iulani, formally Victoria Kawekiu Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Ka‘iulani Cleghorn (October 16, 1875–March 6, 1899), was heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i and held the title of crown princess. Ka‘iulani became known throughout the world for her intelligence, beauty and determination. During the overthrow of her kingdom in 1893, she spearheaded a campaign to restore the monarchy by speaking before Congress and pleading with the President of the United States Benjamin Harrison and later Grover Cleveland. Her life story grew to legendary proportions after her untimely death.
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Early Years
Victoria Ka‘iulani was born in Honolulu to Princess Miriam K. Likelike, sister to the reigning monarch of Hawai‘i, King David Kalakāua. It is through her mother that Ka‘iulani is descended from High Chief Kepo‘okalani, the first cousin of Kamehameha the Great. Ka‘iulani's father was a Scottish financier from Edinburgh and former Royal Governor of O‘ahu Archibald Cleghorn. Ka‘iulani was named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, whose help restored the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i during the reign of Kamehameha III. The name Ka‘iulani translates from the Hawaiian language as the highest point of heaven. Upon her birth, Ka‘iulani was gifted the estate of ‘Āinahau in Waikīkī by her godmother, Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani. Ka‘iulani became mistress of ‘Āinahau at the age of 12 upon the death of her mother.
Education
Because Princess Ka‘iulani was second in line to the throne after her aunt, Princess Lili‘uokalani, it was predicted that the young girl would eventually become Queen. King Kalākaua, Queen Kapi‘olani, Cleghorn, and Princess Lili‘uokalani talked about the issue and it was determined that it would be in the young Princess's best interests that she be given a British education. In 1889, at the age of 13, Ka‘iulani was sent to Northamptonshire, England to be given a private education. She excelled in her studies there. She continued to study in England for the next several years, despite the fact that she had originally been told that she would only be studying in Britain for one year.
Overthrow
During her absence, much turmoil occurred back in Hawai‘i. King Kalākaua passed away in 1891 and Princess Lydia Lili‘uokalani became Queen. Lili‘uokalani immediately appointed Ka‘iulani as her heir, and Ka‘iulani became the Crown Princess. In 1893, a revolution occurred and the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown. The news arrived to Ka‘iulani on January 30, 1893 in a short telegram that said: "'Queen Deposed', 'Monarchy Abrogated', 'Break News to Princess'".
Ka‘iulani decided to take action and traveled to the United States the following month. She traveled through New York City and Boston where she attended numerous press conferences and banquets. She then went to Washington DC where she met with President Cleveland and his wife at the White House. She made a good impression and Cleveland promised to help her cause. Ka‘iulani felt satisfied that something would be done and returned to England. However, when Cleveland brought forth Ka‘iulani's case to Congress, the United States Senate refused to help. The situation in Hawai‘i did not improve, and Ka‘iulani grew impatient. Over the next few years, Ka‘iulani remained in Europe. There, she received news in 1894 that her childhood friend and famed author, Robert Louis Stevenson, had passed away and that Hawai‘i had become a republic. Her health slowly began to deteriorate. Ka‘iulani's health worsened when she learned that her half-sister, Annie Cleghorn, had passed away in 1897.
Late Years
Ka‘iulani returned to Hawai‘i in 1897. The return to a warmer climate did not help her health at all, as she had spent more than seven years in Europe. Her health continued to deteriorate as she struggled to readjust to the subtropical climate of the Hawaiian islands. However, she continued to make public appearances at the urging of her father.
Ka‘iulani was famous for her love of peacocks, and she kept the animals on her estate. For this reason, another name for her is the Peacock Princess.
In 1898, while on a horse ride in the mountains of Hawai‘i Island, she got caught in a storm and shortly came down with a fever. Ka‘iulani was brought back to the Island of O‘ahu where her health continued to decline. She passed away on March 6, 1899 at the age of 23.
Some Native Hawaiians believe that Ka‘iulani died of a broken heart, having suffered many losses in her life (her mother, Theo Davies, David Kalakaua, and her country, among other things). Her father also said that he thought that since Hawai‘i was gone, it was fitting for Ka‘iulani to go as well.
After Death
Scottish poet Robert Louis Stevenson memorialized Ka‘iulani in an often quoted poem. "Forth from her land to mine she goes, the island maid, the island rose; light of heart and bright of face: the daughter of a double race. Her islands here, in southern sun, shall mourn their Kaiulani gone, and I, in her dear banyan shade, look vainly for my little maid. But our Scots islands far away shall glitter with unwonted day, and cast for once their tempests by to smile in Kaiulani's eye."
In 1999, a bronze statue cast by Jan Gordon Fisher was dedicated in the triangle park at Kanekapolei and Kuhio Avenues in Waikiki, Honolulu.