Royal School (Hawaii)
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The Royal School is a historic school founded in 1839 in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, as the Chiefs' Children's School. The school was renamed as the Royal School in 1846. After the boarding closed in 1850, it became a day school for children. It later became a public elementary school, and moved to its present campus in 1967. The present Royal Elementary School continues to educate children from kindergarten to Grade 5 and has been named a
Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
several times.


History

The Chiefs' Children's School was founded by King
Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...
of the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...
as a boarding school to educate the children of the Hawaiian royalty (''
aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...
''). The school was first located where the
ʻIolani Barracks Iolani Barracks, or ''hale koa'' (house fwarriors); in Hawaiian, was built in 1870, designed by the architect Theodore Heuck, under the direction of King Lot Kapuaiwa. Located directly adjacent to Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu, it housed ab ...
stand now. The need for the school was agreed upon during the general meeting of the mission in June 1839. The buildings were ready by 1840, and two more students were added in 1842. An 1844 article in the ''Polynesian'' listed all children with the exception of John William Pitt Kīnaʻu, who had just enrolled, as "princes and chiefs eligible to rulers." The main goal of this school was to educate the next generation of Hawaiian royalty to govern. Seven families that were eligible under succession laws stated in the
1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii The 1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom titled was the first fully written constitution for the Hawaiian Kingdom. The need for a constitution was originally intended as a manner of laws set forth to control the Native Hawaiian population wi ...
and that had converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, who were Kamehameha's closest relatives, made up the majority of the school. They were: *From the sister of Kamehameha III:
Kīnaʻu Princess Kalani Ahumanu i Kaliko o Iwi Kauhipua o Kīnau, also known as Elizabeth Kīnau ( – April 4, 1839) was Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Hawaii as Kaahumanu II, Queen regent and Dowager Queen. Life Her father was King Kamehameha I and he ...
's children, Lot, Victoria Kamāmalu, Moses Kekuaiwa and Alexander Liholiho; *From his half-brother Pauli Kaʻōleiokū's great granddaughter and great-great grandson: Bernice Pauahi and John William Pitt Kīnaʻu; *From his father's younger brother, Keliʻimaikaʻi: his great-great granddaughter, Emma Naʻea and great great grandson, Peter Young Kaʻeo; *From the younger brother of his father, Kalaimamahu: his great grandson, William Charles Lunalilo; *From his father's eldest brother, Kalokuokamaile: his great granddaughter, Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau Laʻanui; *From his grandfather's cousin, a direct line from one of the royal twins,
Kameʻeiamoku Kameeiamoku (died 1802) was a Hawaiian high chief and the Counselor of State to King Kamehameha I. He was called Kamehameha's uncle, but he was really the cousin of Kamehameha's mother, Kekuiapoiwa II. Birth and ancestry Along with his twin b ...
's great great grandchildren: David Kalākaua, Lydia Kamakaeha and James Kaliokalani; *Also from his grandfather's cousin, Kahekili, daughters of Liliha with Kalaniulumoku: Jane Loeau; and with Namaile: Abigail Maheha. It was run by
Amos Starr Cooke Amos Starr Cooke (December 1, 1810 – March 20, 1871) was an American educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century. Life Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, Co ...
and
Juliette Montague Cooke Juliette Montague Cooke (March 10, 1812 – August 11, 1896), known as "Mother Cooke", was an American teacher, a member of the Eighth Company of missionaries sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to the Hawaiian ...
from the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...
. It was a long, two-story frame building with a large dining room and separate sleeping quarters for the children and for the Cooke family. There was also the New England parlor, furnished with handmade and treasured furniture sent from home, and with much brought from China. It resembled nothing Hawaiian in its appearance nor its atmosphere. The royal children were taught how to act like Americans and to speak like Americans. The Hawaiian ''kahu'' (traditional caretaker of children)
John Papa ʻĪʻī John (Ioane) Kaneiakama Papa ʻĪʻī (1800–1870) was a 19th-century educator, politician and historian in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life ʻĪʻī was born 1800, in the month of Hilinehu, which he calculated to be August 3, in later life. He was b ...
was selected as assistant teacher. In 1846 the Kingdom government took over funding of the school under the Minister of Public Instruction Richard Armstrong and the school was renamed the "Royal School". By 1848 the school declined as the children graduated or married. For example, Moses left school in 1847 to live with his father and died in the 1848
measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
epidemic. Jane married Mr. Jasper. Missionary children were also allowed to attend in 1849. It was moved to its present location in 1850 and became a day school instead of a boarding school for the general public. The next principal was
Edward Griffin Beckwith Edward Griffin Beckwith (June 25, 1818 – June 22, 1881) was a United States Army officer who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and who conducted one of the Pacific Railroad Surveys in the 1850s and became known as the ...
(1826–1909) until he became president of Oahu College (now
Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...
) in 1854. In 1853 it had 121 students, of which 8 were pure Hawaiian and 18 part Hawaiian.


Current day

It is now a public elementary school, Royal Elementary School, the oldest school on the island of
Oʻahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...
. It serves grades K-5 and is located at 1519 Queen Emma Street, coordinates . A sculpture by Kim Duffett "Mai ka Hina Kua a ka Hina Alo" was added in 2005. It was partially funded by a foundation named for the Cooke Family.


Alumni


Ruling alumni

*Queen Liliuokalani *Queen Emma, wife of Kamehameha IV *King
David Kalākaua David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
*King
Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...
*King
Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...
*Princess
Victoria Kamāmalu Victoria Kamāmalu Kaʻahumanu IV (November 1, 1838 – May 29, 1866) was ''Kuhina Nui'' of Hawaii and its crown princess. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaʻahumanu-a-Kekūanaōʻa and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly refe ...
, Kuhina Nui *King
William Charles Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and Charles Kana ...


Aliʻi alumni

*Aliʻi
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Bernice Pauahi Bishop KGCOK RoK (December 19, 1831 – October 16, 1884), born Bernice Pauahi Pākī, was an '' alii'' (noble) of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a well known philanthropist. At her death, her estate was the la ...
*Aliʻi Abigail Maheha *Aliʻi Mary Polly Paʻaʻāina *Aliʻi Peter Young Kaeo *Aliʻi
Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau Pratt Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...
*Prince
Moses Kekūāiwa Moses Kekūāiwa (July 20, 1829 – November 24, 1848) was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life and family Kekūāiwa was born on July 20, 1829, in Honolulu, as noted by American merchant Stephen Reynolds, who call ...
*Prince John William Pitt Kīnaʻu *Ali'i James Kaliokalani


Aliʻi alumni as day school

* Gideon Kailipalaki Laanui * Nancy Sumner *Jane Swinton *Martha Swinton *Julia Moemalie * Mary Ann Kiliwehi *
John Mahiʻai Kāneakua The Honourable John Mahi'ai Kāneakua (born John Mahi'ai Miller, September 9, 1860-January 26, 1936) was a noble of the non-ruling elite of the Kingdom of Hawaii, an attorney and politician. He was re-elected to the position of County Clerk of K ...


References


External links


Royal Elementary School website


Further reading

* {{Christianity in Hawaii Educational institutions established in 1839 Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom History of Oahu Schools in Honolulu County, Hawaii 1839 establishments in Hawaii