- Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa was Hawaii's last living princess. She died in December 2022 at 96 years old.
- She descends from an Irish businessman who came to Hawaii in the 1800s and made a living off his sugar plantation.
- Here are some of the most interesting facts about Kawananakoa's life.
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Born in 1926, Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, who went by "Kekau" (pronounced kay-kow) with close friends family, tended to be an extremely private person, despite her renowned royal title.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Kawananakoa was Hawaii's last princess. If Hawaii were still its own nation with its own monarchy, she would have likely assumed the throne. She descended from James Campbell, an Irish businessman who came to Hawaii in the mid-1800s and made a fortune as a partner in a Maui sugar plantation.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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Her grandfather was Prince David Kawananakoa, who was named an heir to the Hawaiian throne.
Source: Associated Press
Though Kawananakoa had no official title and wielded no power in Hawaii, many native Hawaiians see her as a symbol of a time when Hawaii was its own nation. The US annexed Hawaii in 1898, having already ended the reign of Queen Lili'uokalani, Kawananakoa's great-grand aunt, in 1893.
Source: Associated Press, Forbes
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Kawananakoa was worth about $215 million and dedicated parts of her fortune to various causes, including keeping Iolani Palace — America's only royal residence which is now a museum — intact.
Source:Associated Press
She also helped fund protests against building a telescope on a sacred Hawaiian mountain and resistance to a Honolulu rail project.
Source:Associated Press, HawaiiNews Now
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In October 2017, Kawananakoa married her longtime partner, Veronica Gail Worth, who was 63 years old at the time.
Source: Hawaii News Now
But Kawananakoa's former attorney claimed that Worth had physically abused Kawananakoa, who had a stroke in August 2017. The former attorney also said Worth was financially exploiting Kawananakoa because Kawananakoa was mentally unfit to manage her own finances.
Source: Hawaii News Now
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Kawananakoa, who said she was able to manage her own money, fired the attorney. The state Attorney General's office became involved in the battle over Kawananakoa's money because of allegations that charitable assets earmarked for native Hawaiians are being squandered.
Source: Hawaii News Now
Kawananakoa has supported the preservation of native Hawaiian culture, donating items like King Kalakaua's roughly 14-carat diamond pinky ring to the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. Not many people know there was an American princess, making Kawananakoa's life story an incredible piece of US history.
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In 2020, a judge ruled that Kawananakoa was unfit to manage her assets and finances because she was impaired.
Source: The Associated Press
Hawaii's last princess died on December 11, 2022, at 96 years old. She will lie in state on January 22 in Iolani Palace.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser
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