House of Kalākaua
| Kalākaua | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Kingdom of Hawaiʻi |
| Parent house | House of Keawe |
| Titles | King, Queen, Prince, Princess, Aliʻi |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Founder | Kalākaua |
| Final ruler | Liliʻuokalani |
| Current head | Quentin Kawānanakoa |
| Dissolution | 1917 |
The House of Kalākaua, or the Kalākaua Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi between the assumption of King David Kalākaua to the throne in 1874 and the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893. Liliʻuokalani died in 1917, leaving only cousins as heirs. The House of Kalākaua was descended from chiefs on the island of Kauaʻi, and ascended to the royal throne by election when the males of the House of Kamehameha died out. The torch that burns at midday symbolizes the dynasty, based on the sacred kapu Kalākaua's ancestor High Chief Iwikauikaua.
Origin of the House
The dynasty was founded by Kalākaua but included his brothers and sisters who were children of High Chiefess Analea Keohokālole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea. Through Kapaʻakea's paternal grandmother Alapa'iwahine he was great-great-grandson of Chief Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku the great-grandfather (through another son) of Kamehameha I. Through Kapaʻakea's paternal grandfather Kepoʻokalani (who was also Analea's grandfather) he was descended from one of the nīʻaupiʻo royal twins Kameʻeiamoku. Analea was great-great-granddaughter of Chief Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku on her mother Kamaʻeokalani's side and on her father ʻAikanaka's father and mother's side she was descended from High Chief Haʻae-a-Mahi, the father of Kekuʻiʻapowa (the mother of Kamehameha). Also on her father's side she was descended from Keawe-a-Heulu. Many of their ancestors were collateral cousins of King Kamehameha I.
Rise to Power
At the time of Kamehameha V's death in 1872 the male line of Kamehameha had gone extinct leaving Lunalilo and Kalākaua the only male relatives of the Kamehameha Dynasty. Lunalilo who had higher blood was victorious in the 1873 election. But by 1874 after Lunalilo's death Kalākaua was the closest male relative to Kamehameha, since the only remaining Kamehamehas were Ruth Keʻelikōlani and Bernice Pauahi Bishop and the only remaining descendants of Kamehameha's brothers Emma Rooke, Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau and Theresa Owana Laʻanui were all female.
Choosing an heir
King Kalākaua was frustrated by royal elections of 1873 and 1874 and wanted to avoid them in the future. He first appointed his youngest brother Prince Leleiohoku as his successor. William Leleiohoku, however, died in 1877. Kalākaua then appointed several heirs, in order to avoid royal election: He elevated several (though not all) members of Hawaiian nobility to titles of Prince and Princess, and decreed an order of succession that comprised several royals. His first heir was his elder sister, then princess Liliʻuokalani, then their sister princess Likelike, then her daughter princess Kaʻiulani, then their cousin princess Kuhio Kinoike Kekaulike (governor of Kauaʻi), and her three sons, all royal highnesses.
The most important events during the reign of the House of Kalākaua were the promulgation of the Bayonet Constitution, and the overthrow of the kingdom by the Committee of Safety led by former Interior Minister Lorrin A. Thurston.
Fall of the House of Kalākaua
With the deposition of queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893 the House of Kalākaua ceased to reign, and the death of the Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani in 1899 meant the loss of the last direct heir of the siblings of the reigning monarchs of House of Kalākaua. The main line of the dynasty thus ended when the deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani (who had abdicated and renounced) died in 1917. Their cousins came to be known as the House of Kawānanakoa, a branch of the House of Kalākaua, since they are relatives and appointed heirs of King Kalākaua, descended from the royal heir Prince David Kawānanakoa, eldest son of the princess Kūhiō Kinoike Kekaulike, who had died in 1908. The House of Kawānanakoa survives to modern times and at least two of its members have claims to the throne should the Hawaiian monarchy be revived.
House of Kalākaua Members
- King Kalākaua (1836–1891)
- Queen Liliʻuokalani (1839–1893)
- Crown Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani (1875–1899)
- Crown Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku (1854–1877)
- Princess Miriam Likelike (1851–1887)
- Princess Kaiminaʻauao (1844–1848)
- Prince James Kaliokalani (1835–1852)
- Prince Kinini (?–died young)
- Prince Moses (1834–died young)
- High Chief Caesar Kapaʻakea (1815–1866)
- High Chiefess Analea Keohokālole (1816–1869)
| Kalaninuiamamao | Kapaihi-a-Ahu | Kameʻeiamoku | Kamakaʻeheikuli | Heulu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kaolanialii | Ululani | Keawe a Heulu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alapaiwahine | Kepoʻokalani | Keohohiwa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kamokuʻiki (1795–1840) | Kamanawa ʻŌpio (1785–1840) | ʻAikanaka (1790–1868) | Kamaʻeokalani | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Caesar Kapaʻakea (1815–1866) | Analea Keohokālole (1816–1869) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Kaliokalani (1835–1852) | David Kalākaua (1836–1891)  1874–1891 | Lydia Liliʻuokalani (1838–1917) 1891–1893 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Archibald Cleghorn (1835–1910) | Miriam Likelike (1851–1887) | William Pitt Leleiohoku (1854–1877) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Victoria Kaʻiulani (1875–1899) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||