Queen Lili`uokalani

Lili`uokalani

H.R. H. Princess Lili`uokalani
Bishop Museum

The Honorable Lydia Kamaka`eha Paki married John Owen Dominis, whose family built Washington Place. She was one of Hawai`i's most gifted composers and she filled Washington Place with sweet music and aloha for more than half a century. The most famous of her compositions is "Aloha `Oe".

In 1877, Lydia was proclaimed heir to the throne by her brother King Kalakaua with the new name of Lili`uokalani. She became Queen in 1891 only to be overthrown by non-native businessmen in 1893, arrested at Washington Place and imprisoned in `Iolani Palace. Upon her release, she devoted the remainder of her life to futhering the cause of Hawaiian rights in both Hawai`i and Washington D.C.

Queen Lili`uokalani in the garden at Washington Place
c. 1893, Bishop Musuem

Not long before her death in 1917, Queen Lili`uokalani nobly expressed support of the United States in World War I by ordering that the American flag be flown over Washington Place.

Following the death of the Queen, her nephew expressed the desire that the Territory of Hawai`i acquire the home as an Executive Mansion for its Governor, preserving it for posterity as a memorial to Lili`uokalani. Today, Washington Place remains a gracious gathering place where the memory of Queen Lili`uokalani is still honored.

Document Actions

Navigation