Abigail Kawānanakoa, the "Last Hawaiian Princess," Dies at Age 96
Hawaiian royalty Abigail Kawānanakoa, known as the "last Hawaiian princess" or the "last American princess," died in her home in Nu'uanu, Hawaii, on Sunday at age 96. No cause of death has been shared.
Iolani Palace announced the news of Abigail's passing, writing in Hawaiian, "With profound sadness, the Kawananakoa Family, the Hale O Nā Aliʻi O Hawaiʻi and Iolani Palace announces the passing of Her Royal Highness, Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa at 6:45 p.m. We join each other in a period of mourning. Please allow the Kawananakoa Family this time. Services for the Princess are being coordinated; when plans are finalized, they will be shared. We place before you this manao with mournful aloha."
Her wife, Veronica, said in a statement, "Abigail will be remembered for her love of Hawai‘i and its people, and I will miss her with all of my heart."
Kawānanakoa was a noted philanthropist, having amassed a fortune of $215 million—mainly inheritance from her great-grandfather, James Campbell. She funded various Native Hawaiian causes, and contributed to the maintenance of the Iolani Palace, America's only royal residence that is now a museum. As she told a judge in 2019, "heritage dictates that I must take care of the Hawaiian people."
Her grandparents were Abigail Campbell, James's daughter, and David Kawānanakoa, a prince who was in the line of succession to the Hawaiian throne when American businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Their second daughter, Lydia Liliʻuokalani Kawānanakoa, was her mother. However, at age 5, she was legally adopted by her maternal grandmother.
As the Queen Lili’uokalani's great-grandniece, she was considered by some the heir apparent to the Hawaiian throne. Yet, if the monarchy had survived, her cousin Edward Kawānanakoa would've inherited the throne per the line of succession. As she told Honolulu Magazine in 1986, "It would have gone directly to Edward. Of course I would be the power behind the throne, there’s no question about that."
Hawaii governor Josh Green commented on the news of her passing, writing, "Jaime and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa. Abigail bore the weight of her position with dignity and humility, enriched the lives of everyone she touched, and like so many Aliʻi who came before her, she has left a legacy dedicated to her people in perpetuity. Hawaiʻi mourns this great loss, and our aloha and heartfelt condolences go out to her entire ʻohana and all who had the privilege of knowing Princess Abigail Kawānanakoa." (Aliʻi refers to the traditional nobility of Hawaii, and 'ohana is Hawaiian for family.)
Abigail is survived by her wife, Veronica Gail Kawānanakoa.
You Might Also Like
