Virginia Kapoʻoloku Poʻomaikelani (1839–1895) was a member of the royal family of the
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi
Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...
, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
.
Life

She was born at Piʻihonua,
Hilo
Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...
,
Hawaiʻi Island on April 7, 1839, the second daughter of Princess
Kinoiki Kekaulike
Kinoiki Kekaulike I was a Princess of the island of Kauaʻi during the transition from ancient Hawaii to the Kingdom of Hawaii. Biography
She was born in the early 19th century. Her father was King Kaumualiʻi (1778–1824), descended from the ...
of Kauaʻi and High Chief
Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole
Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole was a Hawaiian high chief of Hilo and father of Queen Kapiʻolani.
He was born to Aliʻi Elelule Laʻakeaelelulu and his wife Poʻomaikelani, daughter of Aliʻi Kanekoa, of Waimea, by his first wife, Kalani-kau-lelei-awi, ...
of Hilo.
She was the granddaughter of
Kaumualiʻi
Kaumualiʻi (c. 1778–May 26, 1824) was the last independent Aliʻi#Background, aliʻi nui (supreme ruler of the island) of Kauai, Kauaʻi and Niʻihau before becoming a vassal of Kamehameha I within the unified Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawai ...
, the last king of the island of
Kauaʻi
Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands.
It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 mi ...
before being ceded to the unified
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
governed by
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
. She was also the stepdaughter of Queen Regent
Kaʻahumanu
Kaʻahumanu (March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832) (''"the feathered mantle"'') was queen consort and acted as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as Kuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I and also the most politically powe ...
.
She was elder sister of
Victoria Kinoiki Kekaulike
Victoria Kūhiō Kinoiki Kekaulike II (1843–1884) was a Princess of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Her name also sometimes spelled as Kinoike Kekaulike has been written as Mary Kinoiki Kekaulike in many sources. Her name Kekaulike translates as "the e ...
and younger sister of
Queen Kapiʻolani
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
, who married to King
Kalākaua
Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
. Some sources give her different first names; for example Esther, Abigail or even Victoria. The situation was that the three sisters rarely used their Christian names.
On March 20, 1855, she married
Hiram Kahanawai, a steward of
Queen Emma. Poʻomaikelani and her husband served as in the household as retainers of Queen Emma. She was one of the trusted
ladies-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...
for many years, but left Emma's employment to join her brother-in-law's court.
The couple did not have any children of their own but adopted and raised her nephew Prince
Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui
Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui (May 13, 1869 – September 21, 1887) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. His name means "the chief whose strength is attained through patience".
Early life
Keliʻiahonui was born May 13, 1869, at Kaʻalaʻa at ...
, the second son of her sister Kekaulike.
Her sister's husband became the king of Hawaiʻi in 1874 and she was granted the title of
Princess
Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...
and style of
Her Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''.
When used as a direct form of add ...
, in 1883 during Kalākaua's coronation. She was made
Governor of Hawaiʻi island in 1884 by her brother-in-law and was paid an annual salary of 3500 dollars per year. She also served as President of the Board of Health in 1887.
She was Guardian of the Royal Tombs at the
Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, ...
from October 15, 1888, until her death. Kalākaua appointed her as president of the Board of Genealogy of Hawaiian Chiefs. Poʻomaikelani was kahili bearer during Kalākaua's official coronation.
Death
Suffering from
paralysis
Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
in her right leg, Poʻomaikelani had been largely incapacitated for the last ten years of her life having to be carried about, especially to service at
St. Andrew's Cathedral where she regularly attended. Her condition worsened over the years until she was unable to leave her house. She died at Kalihi Valley,
Oahu
Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...
, October 2, 1895, aged 56, two years after
Queen Liliʻuokalani
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* ...
was overthrown. The cause of death was
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
. After a funeral service at St. Andrew's, she was interred in the
Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, ...
. In 1910, after the completion of the separate Kalākaua Crypt, her casket was moved there from the main mausoleum building along with other members of the Kalākaua Dynasty.
Ancestry
See also
*
Hale Nauā Society
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poomaikelani, Virginia Kapooloku
1839 births
1895 deaths
Burials at the Royal Mausoleum (Mauna ʻAla)
Hawaiian ladies-in-waiting
Hawaiian princesses
Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom
House of Kalākaua
Governors of Hawaii (island)
People from Hilo, Hawaii
Recipients of the Royal Order of Kalākaua
Recipients of the Royal Order of Kapiolani
Native Hawaiian women in politics