Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawnanakoa , the so-called ‘last Hawaiian princess’ whose lineage included the royal family that once ruled the islands and an Irish businessman who became one of Hawaii’s largest landowners, has died this Sunday at 96 years old.
His death was announced Monday morning outside Iolani Palace , America’s only royal residence, where the Hawaiian monarch once lived but now serves primarily as a museum. As it rained, Paula Akana , the palace’s executive director, and Hailama Farden , of Hale ON Alii O Hawaii, a royal Hawaiian society, walked down the palace steps and entrance to read the announcement in Hawaiian.
A later press release said he died peacefully at his Honolulu home with his wife, Veronica Gail Kawnanakoa , by his side. “Abigail will be remembered for her love for Hawaii and its people,” his wife of 69 years said in a statement, “and will be missed with all my heart.”
Kawnanakoa had no formal title, but it was a living reminder of Hawaii’s monarchy and a symbol of Hawaiian national identity that endured after the kingdom was overthrown by American businessmen in 1893.
“She was always called a princess among the Hawaiians because the Hawaiians have recognized that lineage,” Kimo Alama Keaulana , an assistant professor of Hawaiian language and studies at Honolulu Community College , said in a 2018 interview. “Hawaiians hold genealogy very dear. And genealogically speaking, she is of high royal blood.”
He called her “the last of our alii,” using the Hawaiian word for royalty: “She epitomizes Hawaiian royalty, in all her dignity, intelligence and artistry.”
James Campbell , his great-grandfather, was an Irish businessman who made his fortune as a sugar plantation owner and one of the largest landowners in Hawaii.
He had married Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine Bright . His daughter, Abigail Wahiika’ahu’ula Campbell, married Prince David Kawnanakoa , who was named heir to the throne.
Their daughter Lydia Kamaka’eha Liliu’okulani Kawnanakoa Morris had Abigail with her husband William Jeremiah Ellerbrock.
After the prince’s death, his widow adopted his granddaughter, young Abigail, which strengthened her title of princess. She acknowledged in an interview with Honolulu Magazine in 2021 that if the monarchy had survived, her cousin Edward Kawnanakoa would be first in line to be ruler, not her. “Of course, I would be the power behind the throne, there’s no doubt about that,” he teased.
Known to family and close friends as ‘Kekau’ , she received more money from Campbell than anyone else and amassed a trust valued at around $215 million.
He funded various causes over the years, including scholarships for Native Hawaiian students, opposed the Honolulu rail transit project , supported protests against a giant telescope, donated items owned by King Kalkaua and Queen Kapiolani for public display, including a 14-carat diamond from the king.
“As a longtime benefactor of the Friends of Iolani Palace and many other Native Hawaiian causes, Princess Abigail’s generosity and contributions have greatly benefited our lhui,” they said in a statement, using a Hawaiian word that can mean “Hawaiian community”.
Gov. Josh Green ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Hawaii to fly at half staff at the state capitol and state offices until sunset this Sunday, saying that “Hawaii is mourning this great loss”.
Critics have said that because there are other remaining descendants of the royal family who do not claim any title, Kawnanakoa was considered the last Hawaiian princess simply because of her wealth and honorary title.
Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte said many Hawaiians are not interested in whether she was a princess and that her impact on indigenous culture was minimal. “We didn’t quite understand what his role was and how he could help us,” Ritte said.
Many Hawaiians couldn’t relate to her, she said. “We call it the tall maka-maks,” he said, using a Hawaiian term that can mean high class.
Born in Honolulu, Kawnanakoa was educated at Punahou , a prestigious preparatory school. She also attended an American school in Shanghai and graduated from Notre Dame High School for Women in Belmont, California , where she was a boarding student.
She was briefly engaged to a man, but most of her long-term relationships were with women.
“She was always curious about what people would do for money,” said Jim Wright , who was her personal attorney from 1998 until she fired him in 2017 during a bitter court battle over control of her trust.
I remembered a time when the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu asked for a donation of $100,000 to commemorate the canonization of Saint Marianne. She told him she would give the money to the church only if she could get a picture of Pope Benedict accepting her check, Wright said.
When the bishop agreed, Kawnanakoa was disappointed. “He really expected them to tell him to go away,” Wright said.
Meanwhile, she found the Dalai Lama ‘s refusal to accept her monetary gifts in 2012 likable, Wright said: “I was so pleased that someone actually had some integrity.”
Passion for breeding racehorses
She was inducted into the Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2018, and was noted by the American Quarter Horse Association as the “industry’s all-time leading breeder by command of an operation that has produced profits of more than 10 million dollars”.
One of his horses, A Classic Dash , won $1 million in the 1993 New Mexico All-American Futurity.
In addition to turning heads with his racehorses, Kawnanakoa gained notoriety when he sat on a throne at Iolani Palace for a Life magazine photo shoot in 1998. He damaged some of his fr nimble threads.
The uproar led to her removal as president of the Friends of Iolani Palace, a position she held for more than 25 years.
The battle for control of her trust began when a judge approved her lawyer Wright as trustee after she suffered a stroke . He claimed not to be incapacitated, fired Wright as his attorney, and married Veronica Gail Worth, his partner of 20 years.
In 2018, Kawnanakoa tried to amend his trust to ensure his wife received $40 million and all of their personal assets, according to court records.
In 2020, a judge ruled that Kawnanakoa could not manage her property or business affairs because she was disabled.
For hearings in the case, his wife would drive them to a handicapped booth near the back entrance of a courthouse in downtown Honolulu in a black Rolls Royce.
“My wife? Oh, wife,” he said in a video interview his publicist released in 2019 to respond to allegations raised in the court case, including the way his wife was treating her. “If it wasn’t for Gail, I wouldn’t be as normal as you see me now,” she said in the video, showing off her coiffed hair, make-up face, and red manicure.
It was “heartbreaking,” he said, not being able to fulfill his obligation to the Hawaiian people amid legal disputes over his trust. “My heritage dictates that I take care of the Hawaiians,” she said during a court hearing.
