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Kauai – the Last Independent Kingdom in Hawai’i

Hanalei, Kauai, Hawai’i
Hanalei, Kauai, Hawai’i

The Kingdom of Kauai was the last ancient and independent Kingdom to be incorporated into a united "Kingdom of Hawai’i."

By 1795, Chief Kamehameha had conquered the majority of the individual Hawaiian Kingdoms to become the Ali’i Moi (King) of a united island group. Yet he remained unsuccessful in subjugating the Kingdom of Kauai.

However, in 1810, King Kaumuali’i of Kauai decided to peacefully unite with Kamehameha and join with the rest of the recently formed "Kingdom of Hawai’i."

The current descendants of the Kingdom of Kauai are the House of Kamakahelei and the House of Kawananakoa.

Queen Kamakahelei of Kauai
Queen Kamakahelei of Kauai

Princes of Kauai

Queen Kamakahelei had been the last regnant Queen of Kauai, a ruling Queen in her own right. She had two sons Kaumali’i and Ikekeleaiku and it is through her son Prince Ikekeleaiku that the Baker Ohana descend in a direct male line to HRH Prince Darrick.

Prince Kaumuali’i, the elder son, was the last King of Kauai and his descendants, through the female line, became the House of Kawananakoa. Many Princes of Kauai served the Kingdom as Royal Governors including Prince Robert Hoapili Baker, Governor of Maui and Adie-de-camp to King Kalakaua, & Prince Aarona Keali’iahonui, Royal Governor of Kauai.

The importance of the Royal family from Kauai was further validated by the marriage of King Kalakaua to Princess Kapi’olani of Kauai who became the Queen consort.

HRH Prince Darrick is in fact the senior legitimate male heir of the Kamakahelei line and thus the Baker Ohana, by male primogeniture from Queen Kamakahelei.

Custodian of the heritage and culture of the Hawaiian Kingdom

In his most sacred role as an Ali’i Nui, Prince Darrick, Prince of Kauai, stepped forward to publicly protect the sacred heritage and culture of the former Kingdom of Hawai’i.

Integral to his role was to correct the misinformation that was being misleadingly spread by various ‘non-Hawaiian’ groups, that a junior Ali’i was the "heir to the Kingdom of Hawai’i". Please note carefully:

  • There is no Crown Prince nor Crown Princess of the former Hawaiian Kingdom.
  • There are no legitimate descendants of either the House of Kamehameha nor the House of Kalakaua. Both of those Houses are extinct.

It is also important to note that King Kalakaua was elected to succeed the House of Kamehameha as there were no further legitimate heirs within the Kamehameha family. (Princess Bernice Bishop had declined her nomination to become the next monarch after the death of King Kamehameha V.)

Accordingly, any claim to being the heir of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, is a deceptive fabrication which is being perpetuated by a small group who possess little knowledge of Hawaiian history, Royal genealogy or the sacred and ancient traditions of the Ali’i.

Hawaiian Kingdom legislation clearly states that an heir to the former Kingdom of Hawai’i would have to be elected by the Council of Ali’i, as no legitimate heirs exist. Candidates would be sourced from senior Ali’i families that descend from pre unification Royal Houses and who, over the generations, have maintained the strength of the Ali’i through marriage within the Ali’i.

And thus the Princes of Kauai, notably Prince Darrick of the House of Kamakahelei and Prince Quentin of the House of Kawananakoa are two Ali’i Nui that would be eligible for election.