Royal Order of Kamehameha I

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The Royal Order of Kamehameha I was established in 1865 by Kamehameha V in defense of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

Upon the overthrow of Liliʻuokalani as Queen of Hawaiʻi, at the hands of the Committee of Safety and the United States Marine Corps, the provisional government composed of American citizens declared the Royal Order of Kamehameha I a threat to national security and forcibly suppressed it. The Royal Order of Kamehameha I continued to exist as an underground society, keeping vigil for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy and to aid native Hawaiians in need.

In 1903, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I came out of hiding as the surviving heir to the throne, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, led a torchlight ceremony to the statue of Kamehameha I in front of Aliʻiōlani Hale. He announced a public proclamation of the restoration of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. Also, Kalanianaʻole reorganized all the Hawaiian royal societies and established new civic clubs to act as grassroots organizations in advocacy of native Hawaiians.

Today, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I continues its work in defense and preservation of native Hawaiian rituals and the rites established by the House of Kamehameha. It has often been consulted by the State of Hawaiʻi and the various county governments of Hawaiʻi in native Hawaiian-sensitive rites performed at state functions.