Queen Consort Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonalani Naea Rooke of Hawaii (January 2, 1836 – April 25, 1885) was queen to King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863. She tried to run for ruling monarch against King David Kalākaua.
[edit] Early years
Emma was born in Honolulu, Oahu and named Emalani.[1] She was born to High Chief George Naea and High Chiefess Fanny Kekelaokalani Young.[2][3] She was hānai (an adoptive child) to her childless maternal aunt, chiefess Grace Kama'iku'i Young Rooke, and her husband, Dr. T.C.B. Rooke. On her birth mother's side, she was the granddaughter of John Young Olohana (Kamehameha I's British-born royal advisor and companion) and Princess Ka'oana'eha, the niece of Kamehameha I. On her birth father's side, she was the granddaughter of Prince Keli'imaika'i, the only full blooded brother of Kamehameha. Ka'oana'eha's father is disputed; some say she was the daughter of Prince Keli'imaika'i other state she was the daughter of High Chief Kaleipaihala-Kalanikuimamao. This confusion is due to the fact that High Chiefess Kaliko'o'kalani married twice to Keli'imaika'i and to Kaleipaihala. Through High Chief Kaleipaihala-Kalanikuimamao she could be descendant of Kalaniʻopuʻu, King of Hawaii before Kiwalaʻo and Kamehameha. King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani criticized Queen Emma's claim of descent from the Kamehamehas, supporting the latter descent. This was to streghten their claim: their great-grandfather was Kamehameha I's first cousin. But one historian of the time, Samuel Kamakau supported Queen Emma's descent from Keli'imaika'i.[4]:357-358
She grew up at her foster parents' English Mansion at Honolulu named the Rooke House. Emma was educated in Honolulu at the Royal School, which was established by American missionaries. Other Hawawaiian royals attending the school included her half-sister Paaina. Like her classmates, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, David Kalākaua and Lydia Liliʻuokalani, she was cross-cultural — both Hawaiian and Euro-American in her habits. But Emma often found herself at odds with her peers. Unlike many of them, she was neither romantic nor prone to hyperbole.[citation needed] When the school closed, Dr. Rooke hired an English governess, Sarah Rhodes von Pfister, to tutor the young Emma. He also encouraged reading from his extensive library. As a writer, he influenced Emma's interest in reading and books. By the time she was 20, she was an accomplished young woman. She was 5' 2", slender, with large black eyes. Her musical talents as a vocalist, pianist and dancer were well known. She was also a skilled equestrian.
[edit] Married life and reign
Emma became engaged to the king of Hawaii, Alexander Liholiho. At the engagement party, a Hawaiian charged that Emma's Caucasian blood made her unfit to be the Hawaiian queen; her lineage was not suitable enough to be Alexander Liholiho's bride. Tempers flared, and Emma burst into tears. In 1856, she married Alexander Liholiho, who a year earlier had assumed the throne as Kamehameha IV. He was also fluent in both Hawaiian and English. Two years later, in 1858, Emma gave birth to a son, Prince Albert Kamehameha.
During her reign, the queen kept busy tending to palace affairs, including the expansion of the palace library. Inspired by her father’s work, she also encouraged her husband to establish a public hospital to help the Native Hawaiians who were in decline due to foreign-borne diseases like smallpox.
Queen Emma gained the name "Kaleleonalani" after the death of her young son and husband, in remembrance of the "flight of the heavenly one". After her son's death and before her husband's death, she was referred to as "Kaleleokalani", or "flight of the heavenly one". She was baptized into the Anglican faith in October 21, 1862 as "Emma Alexandrina Franis Agnes Lowder Byde Rook Young Kaleleokalani.[4]:152
Queen Emma was also nicknamed "Wahine Hololio" in deference to her renowned horsemanship.
During her reign and after, she was known for her humanitarian efforts.
[edit] Friends
Emma many friends, a cosmopolitan group that included haole, hapa-haole and kānaka maoli (full blooded Hawaiians), who were mostly people she had met in her school days and her reign as Queen Consort. Prior to Royal School, Emma had no childhood friend beside her cousin Peter.[4]:67
- Princess Victoria Kamamalu, two years younger, had been friends since school days. Their friendship grew after Emma became Victoria's sister-in-law. Like Emma, she was a talented singer and pianist, and devout Christian (although she was Calvinist and Emma was Anglican). Emma spent more time with Victoria than any other friend, since they attended the same family and official functions.
- The High Chiefess Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt, a quarter Caucasian like Emma, was Emma's roommate at Royal School.[5] Emma referred to her as her "cousin Lizzy" since they were third cousins. They were born in the same year, but she outlived Emma by forty three years. Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at Emma's wedding and frequently was a lady-in-waiting.
- Lucy Kaopauli Kalanikiekie Peabody, four years Emma's junior, served as one of Emma's maids-of-honor. Her mother was Elizabeth K. Davis, daughter of George H. Davis, son of Isaac Davis, the companion in arms of Emma's grandfather, John Young. Emma's father, Dr. Rooke, was once involved in a business partnership with Lucy's father, Dr. Parker Peabody, an American physician.
- Mary Pitman, one of the queen's bridesmaids, was her first cousin. Mary's mother was the Chiefess Kinoʻole o Liliha from the Olaʻa region of Hawaii island, and the daughter of High Chief Hoʻolulu who concealed the bones of Kamehameha I in a secret hiding place. Mary's father was Benjamin Pitman, an American who owned a store in Hilo where he prospered until he left the Islands in 1861.
- Rebecca Gregg's friendship with Emma developed partly out of the excellent relationship that her husband had as an adviser and later minister to the king in spite of the king's unequivical opposition to annexation by the United States. The Greggs were often houseguests of Their Majesties at their home in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii island and at their Nuʻuanu summer house. Rebecca was frequently present at court functions and a chosen companion for rides with the ladies of the court. She even named one of her daughters Emma.[4]:68
- Cornelia Hamlin, Gregg's niece from California, accompanied them to Hawaii in 1853. She also accompanied the Greggs on their first audience with King Kamehameha II when they met Prince Alexander for the first time. It must have been shortly thereafter that Cornelia met Emma and became a close friend. When Cornelia married Captain William Babcock (a whaler) in Jan. 1857, both the king and queen attended the wedding. The king even gave away the bride. Gregg described Cornelia as being the "Queen's most intimate friend".
- Annie S. Parke, five years Emma's senior, had easy access to the court and hence the queen because of her husband's position. William Parke served both Kamehameha II and Alexander Liholiho as the kingdom's trusted marshal, a position he would hold until 1884. It was Annie who was commissioned to purchase the wedding trousseau for Emma and a wardrobe for Victoria on her trip to the U.S. mainland a few months before the wedding.
- Alice Brown was the niece of Sarah Von Pfister, Emma's childhood governess. Her father was Thomas Brown, the royal gardener at Windsor Castle before he moved to Hawaii for his health in 1844. Alice was an Anglican, devoted to her faith and to helping the poor and the sick. These qualities must have attracted Emma to Alice.
- She had close male friends also: her cousin Peter, whom Emma never forsook, even after he was diagnosed with leprosy; David Kalakaua, a classmate from school; Prince Lot, an old classmate and her brother-in-law; David Gregg, the American Commissioner; and Robert Crichton Wylie, one of the King's ministers.[4]:69
[edit] Religious legacy
In 1860, Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV petitioned the Church of England to help establish the Church of Hawaii. Upon the arrival of an Anglican bishop and two priests, they both were confirmed in November 1862. Emma established Queen's Hospital and visited patients there almost daily whenever she was in residence in Honolulu. In 1867 she founded Saint Andrew's Priory School for the young women of Hawai'i. With her husband, she championed the Anglican (Episcopal) church in Hawaii and founded St. Andrew’s Cathedral, raising funds for the building. She also laid the groundwork for an Episcopal secondary school 'Iolani School. Emma and her husband King Kamehameha IV are honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Their feast day is celebrated annually on November 28.[6]
[edit] Royal Election of 1874
After the death of King Lunalilo, Emma decided to run in the constitutionally-mandated royal election against future King David Kalākaua. She claimed that Lunalilo had wanted her to succeed him in office, but died before a formal proclamation could be made.
The day after Lunalilo died, Kalakaua declared himself candidate for the throne. The next day Queen Emma did the same. The first real animosity between the Kamehamehas and Kalakaua begun to appear. The proclamation that Kalakaua put forth was a dignified one, as published;
" To the Hawaiian Nation."
“Salutations to You--Whereas His Majesty Lunalilo departed this life at the hour of nine o'clock last night; and by his death the Throne of Hawaii is left vacant, and the nation is without a head or a guide. In this juncture it is proper that we should seek for a Sovereign and Leader, and doing so, follow the course prescribed by Article 22nd of the Constitution. My earnest desire is for the perpetuity of the Crown and the permanent independence of the government and people of Hawaii, on the basis of the equity, liberty, prosperity, progress and protection of the whole people. It will be remembered that at the time of the election of the late lamented Sovereign, I put forward my own claim to the Throne of our beloved country, on Constitutional grounds -- and it is upon those grounds only that I now prefer my claims, and call upon you to listen to my call, and request you to instruct your Representatives to consider, and weigh well, and to regard your choice to elect me, the oldest member of a family high in rank in the country. Therefore, I, David Kalakaua, cheerfully call upon you, and respectfully ask you to grant me your support. " D. KALAKAUA
Iolani Palace, Feb. 4, 1874.
Her supporters styled themselves as Emmaites or Queenites and were made up of mostly Hawaiians and British subject of Hawaii.
Queen Emma issued her proclamation the next day;[7]
“To the Hawaiian People:
" Whereas, His late lamented Majesty Lunalilo died on the 3rd of February, 1874, without having publicly proclaimed a Successor to the Throne; and whereas, " His late Majesty did before his final sickness declare his wish and intention that the undersigned should be his Successor on the Throne of the Hawaiian Islands, and enjoined upon me not to decline the same under any circumstances; and whereas. "Many of the Hawaiian people have since the death of His Majesty urged me to place myself in nomination at the ensuing session of the Legislature; " Therefore, in view of the foregoing considerations and my duty to the people and to the memory of the late King, I do hereby announce and declare that I am a Candidate for the Throne of these Hawaiian Islands, and I request my beloved people throughout the group, to assemble peacefully ad orderly in their districts, and to give formal expression to their views on this important subject, and to instruct their Representatives in the coming session of the Legislature. "God Protect Hawaii! " "Honolulu, Feb. 5, 1874.
EMMA KALELEONALANI. "
Emma's candidacy was agreeable to a large section of the Native Hawaiian population, not only because her husband was a member of the Kamehameha Dynasty, but she was closer in descent to Hawaii's first king, Kamehameha The Great, than her opponent. On foreign policy, she (like her husband) were pro-British while Kalākaua was pro-American. She also strongly wished to stop Hawaii's dependence on American industry and to give the Native Hawaiians a more powerful voice in government. While Emma enjoyed the support of the people, the Legislative Assembly, which was responsible for electing the new monarch, favored Kalākaua, who won the election 39 - 6. News of her defeat caused a large-scale riot, which was eventually dispersed due to the assistance of both British & American troops stationed on warships in Honolulu Harbor.
After the election, she retired from public life. While she would come to recognize Kalākaua as the rightful king, she would never speak with his wife Queen Kapiʻolani as a result of a family quarrel.
[edit] As Queen Dowager
After the death of her husband and son, she remained a widow for the rest of her life. Known affectionately as the "Old Queen", King Kalakaua always left a seat for her at any royal occasion, even though she would usually never attend. Specific conspicuous events that Emma did not attend were:
- Lili'uokalani's birthday celebration at Ali'iolani Hale
- Receptions for high foreign officials and guests (including American Admiral Stevens of the U.S.S Pensacola and the new minister of Foreign Affairs)
- The laying of the foundation of Lunalilo Home.
Emma would never attend any event that either Lili'uokalani or Kapiolani would attend. This was because Emma had blamed the death of Albert on Queen Kapiolani, who was supposed to be the child's governess.
[edit] Impressions
Isabella Bird, on her travels to Hawaii, met Queen Emma and described her as very British and Hawaiian in many ways:
Miss W. kindly introduced me to Queen Emma, or Kaleleonalani, the widowed queen of Kamehameha IV., whom you will remember as having visited England a few years ago, when she received great attention. She has one-fourth of English blood in her veins, but her complexion is fully as dark as if she were of unmixed Hawaiian descent, and her features, though refined by education and circumstances, are also Hawaiian; but she is a very pretty, as well as a very graceful woman. She was brought up by Dr. Rooke, an English physician here, and though educated at the American school for the children of chiefs, is very English in her leanings and sympathies, an attached member of the English Church, and an ardent supporter of the “Honolulu Mission.” Socially she is very popular, and her exceeding kindness and benevolence, with her strongly national feeling as an Hawaiian, make her much beloved by the natives.[8]
in an interview, Kanahele, author of Queen Emma: Hawaii's remarkable queen said :
She was different from any of her contemporaries. Emma is Emma is Emma. There’s no one like her. A devout Christian who chose to be baptized in the Anglican church in adulthood, and a typically Victorian woman who wore widow’s weeds, gardened, drank tea, patronized charities and gave dinner parties, she yet remained quintessentially Hawaiian. She wrote exquisite chants of lament in Hawaiian, craved Hawaiian food when she was away from it, loved to fish, hike, ride and camp out (activities she kept up to the end of her life) and, throughout her life, took very seriously her role as a protector of the people’s welfare. In a way, she was a harbinger of things to come in terms of Hawaii’s multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society. You have to be impressed with her eclecticism — spiritually, emotionally and physically. She was kind of our first renaissance queen..[citation needed]
In 1883, Emma suffered the first of several small strokes and died two years later on April 25, 1885 at the age of 49. She was given a royal funeral and was interred in Mauna 'Ala, next to her husband and son.
At first the remains were laid in state at her own house; but Mr. Cartwright and a few of his friends took it into their heads to have the casket removed to Kawaiahao church, the apology being that her house was not large enough to accommodate such a gathering as would come together on the day of the funeral. This was accordingly done, much to the wonder and displeasure of those who had charge of the church, and of the friends of the departed queen. Queen Emma was not an attendant there. On the contrary, she had been chiefly instrumental in the founding of the Anglican Mission, and was an Episcopalian. Why, then, supposing it had been at all necessary to select a church for her funeral, did they not select the Episcopal church? That was her own church, and she should have been buried therefrom; for while living she had shown strong attachment to it, and an equally strong feeling of opposition to other denominations. The persons selected by her agent to guard her remains showed no regard for the sacredness of the place. They smoked, feasted, and sang songs while awaiting the last solemn rites due to the dead. However, when the day of the burial came, Bishop Willis of the English Church adapted himself to the circumstances, and officiated from the Congregational pulpit with the ritual of his own church; after which, with all the pomp and splendor due to her state as a queen amongst the sovereigns of the Hawaiian people, she was borne up the Nuuanu Valley, and laid by the side of her husband, Alexander Liholiho, or Kamehameha IV. [9]
[edit] Trivia
- England’s Queen Victoria remarked of Emma, "Nothing could be nicer or more dignified than her manner."
- In 1867, she founded the school St. Andrew's Priory, an all-girl's Episcopal day-school.
- Queen Emma was the first queen ever to visit the White House.
- In 1859, she founded The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
[edit] Ancestors
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
