The last Crown Princess of Hawaii, the subject of
a 2009 film starring
Q'orianka Kilcher, is still beloved by the people of the fiftieth state. According to
Aloha-Hawaii:
Born on October 16, 1875 during the reign of King Kalakaua, Victoria
Kaiulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiui Lunalilo was named for England’s
Queen Victoria, a longtime friend to Hawaiian royalty. Her mother was
Princess Miriam Likelike, sister to Kalakaua. Her father was
Scottish-born Archibald Cleghorn, one-time governor of Oahu.
At birth, Kaiulani was given an estate in Waikiki
by Princess Ruth Keelikolani, the last surviving member of the
Kamehamehas. Called Ainahau, the estate was near the ocean and
surrounded by trees and flowers. Peacocks strutted amongst the ponds and
footpaths. As a child, Kaiulani spent many hours riding her white pony.
When she was 13, the princess met poet Robert Louis Stevenson, who
had moved into the residence next door. The two became fast friends,
with the famed writer mesmerizing Kaiulani with intriguing tales as they
sat in the garden.
Shortly thereafter, Kaiulani was sent away to England to further her education. During her absence, the Hawaii’s monarchy
fell on troubled times, including the unexpected death of King Kalakaua
in 1891. His sister, Liliuokalani, ascended the throne as Hawaii’s
queen. Among her first acts was naming Kaiulani as her heir apparent.
Kaiulani wanted to return home, but the queen would not permit it. So
the princess bided her time in England, attending royal balls,
theatrical events and other social functions. Tall, slim and beautiful,
Kaiulani captured the hearts of all who met her.
Alas, by the time the princess returned to the Islands in 1897, her
homeland was already a much different place. Liliuokalani had been
forced to abdicate her throne four years earlier, and the monarchy was
no more. Instead, Hawaii was about to be named a republic by U.S.
President William McKinley.
“I must have been born under an unlucky star,” said Kaiulani, “as I
seem to have my life planned for me in such a way that I cannot alter
it.” Months later, while horseback riding on the Big Island, she was
caught in a rainstorm and fell ill. The cold lingered for months.
Finally, on March 6, 1899, Kaiulani died of pneumonia. She was only 23.
With such a poignantly tragic life, the Princess is a ready-made heroine for a film, yet the 2009 one is disappointing in many ways. Although
Princess Ka'iulani is well-acted and well-cast, with sumptuous costumes and magnificent sets, I wish the plot included more actual events from her life. Instead of showing her friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson, her talents in art, music and languages, her betrothal to her cousin, her migraines and her final illness the movie focuses on what appears to have been a fictional romance with the son of Ka'iulani's guardian, consisting mostly of dreamy beach scenes. In the hands of a more skilled director, and with a better screenplay, the film could have been much more haunting and powerful. Sadly, it did not do justice to the heart-wrenching epic of she whose Hawaiian name meant "the highest point of heaven." It does, however, introduce Princess Ka'iulani to many who perhaps without the film might never have heard of her.
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