The “Last Hawaiian Princess,” Abigail Kawananakoa, has died at the age of 96. Hawaiian aristocracy Abigail Kawnanakoa, described as the “last Hawaiian princess” or the “last American princess,” died on Sunday at the age of 96 in her home in Nu’uanu, Hawaii. The reason for death has not been disclosed.
Iolani Palace notified Abigail’s death, stating in Hawaiian, “The Kawananakoa Family, Hale O N Alii O Hawaii, and Iolani Palace announce the death of Her Royal Highness, Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, at 6:45 p.m. We are all in grief at the same time. Please give the Kawananakoas this time.
Services for the Princess are being planned; once finalized, details will be released. With sorrowful aloha, we present you with this.” “Abigail will be remembered for her love of Hawai’i and its people, and I shall mourn her with all of my heart,” her wife, Veronica, said in a statement.
Karnataka was a well-known philanthropist, having accumulated a fortune of $215 million, most of which she inherited from her great-grandfather, James Campbell. She contributed to the upkeep of the Iolani Palace, America’s sole royal house that is now a museum, and to numerous Native Hawaiian organizations. “Heritage mandates that I take care of the Hawaiian people,” she told a judge in 2019.
Her grandparents were James Campbell’s daughter, Abigail Campbell, and David Kawnanakoa, a prince who was in line for the Hawaiian throne when American businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Lydia Liliuokalani Kawnanakoa, their second daughter, was her mother. Her maternal grandmother, however, formally adopted her when she was five years old.
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Lili’uokalani, the last Queen of Hawaii, was crowned in 1917. She was considered the successor apparent to the Hawaiian monarchy since she was Queen Lili’uokalani’s great-grandniece. Nonetheless, if the kingdom had survived, her cousin Edward Kawnanakoa would have inherited the crown in accordance with the line of succession.
In 1986, she told Honolulu Magazine, “It would have been delivered directly to Edward. There’s no doubt in my mind that I would be the power behind the throne.” Hawaii Governor Josh Green responded to the news of her death, stating, “Jaime and I are heartbroken by the death of Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawnanakoa.
Abigail carried the weight of her position with dignity and humility, enhanced the lives of everyone she met, and, like so many Alii before her, she has left a legacy dedicated to her people for all time. Hawai’i mourns this enormous loss, and our heartfelt condolences go out to her whole ohana and everyone who had the honor of knowing Princess Abigail Kawnanakoa.” (Alii refers to Hawaii’s historic nobility, while ‘ohana is Hawaiian for family.) Veronica Gail Kawnanakoa, Abigail’s wife, survives her.