"E Ola Ke Alii Ke Akua" ('God Save the King') was one of the four

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

s of the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

. It was composed in 1860 by then 25-year-old Prince William Charles Lunalilo, who later became King Lunalilo. Prior to 1860, Hawai‘i lacked its own national anthem and had used the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

royal anthem The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescrib ...

God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

". A contest was sponsored in 1860 by

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; Anglicisation, anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the List of Hawaiian monarchs, fourth monar ...

, who wanted a song with Hawaiian lyrics set to the tune of the British anthem. The winning entry was written by Lunalilo and was reputed to have been written in 20 minutes. Lunalilo was awarded 10 dollars which he later donated to the Queen's Hospital. His composition became Hawaii's first national anthem. It remained Hawaii's national anthem for 6 years until 1866, when it was replaced by Queen

Liliʻuokalani Queen Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of th ...

's composition " He Mele Lāhui Hawaiʻi".

"E Ola Ke Aliʻi Ke Akua"

References

Symbols of Hawaii Historical national anthems Songs in Hawaiian Royal anthems Oceanian anthems 1860 establishments in Hawaii God Save the King {{anthem-stub