Princess Victoria Kuhio Kinoiki Kekaulike’s (1843-1884) mother was Princess Kinoiki Kekaulike I, a daughter of Kaumualii, the last king of Kauai, and her father was Kuhio Kalanianaole, a high chief of Hilo. Her husband, whom she married in 1861, was
Princess Victoria Kuhio Kinoiki Kekaulike’s (1843-1884) mother was Princess Kinoiki Kekaulike I, a daughter of Kaumualii, the last king of Kauai, and her father was Kuhio Kalanianaole, a high chief of Hilo.
Her husband, whom she married in 1861, was high chief David Kahalepouli Piikoi of Kauai. They would have three royal sons — David Kahalepouli Kawananakoa, Edward Keliiahonui and Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole.
Princess Victoria Kekaulike’s brother-in-law was King David Kalakaua, who had married her eldest sister, Esther Kapiolani, in 1863.
When Kalakaua was elected king in 1874, Esther Kapiolani became Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Six years later, in 1880, Kalakaua named Princess Kekaulike the Governor of Hawaii Island, a title she would hold until her death.
In 1883, during Kalakaua’s coronation ceremony at Iolani Palace, Kalakaua granted Kekaulike the additional title of Princess of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Princess Kekaulike’s duty at the coronation was to carry Kalakaua’s feather cape and hand it to Chief Justice Albert Francis Judd, who then placed it upon Kalakaua’s shoulders.
King Kalakaua also granted each of Princess Kekaulike’s sons the title of Prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii at the coronation and declared one of them, Prince Kawananakoa, the third heir to the throne after Princess Liliuokalani and Princess Kaiulani.
Another son, Prince Kuhio, was born on Kauai in 1871 at the fishing village of Hoai in a grass house that once stood in the area now known as Kuhio Park.
He would later participate in the failed counterrevolution of 1895 that was aimed at restoring the monarchy. From 1903 until his death in 1922, he served as Hawaii’s delegate to the United States Congress.
When Princess Kekaulike died in 1884, Queen Kapiolani and Princess Poomaikelani, her other sister, adopted Kekaulike’s sons.
Princess Kekaulike is interred in the Kalakaua crypt at the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii on Nuuanu Avenue in Honolulu.
