Hawaii’s Princess Abigail Kawananakua, identified as the last of the Pacific archipelago’s royal line, has died at the age of 96, the palace announced Monday.
Abigail Kawananakua had no official title, but her ancestors ruled Hawaii until it was overthrown by settlers in the late 19th century.e century.
According to a statement from Iolani Palace, the historic home of the ruling family, the heiress, who was referred to by some on the island as “Akher Aliei” — a Hawaiian word meaning “member of the royal family,” has died.
“Hawaii mourns the loss of Her Royal Highness Princess Abigail Kenoiki Kekulayke Kawananaqua, who passed away peacefully last night at her home in Niwano, with his wife, Veronica Gail Kawananaqua, at her side,” the statement read.
“Abigail will be remembered for her love for Hawaii and its people. (…) I will miss her with all my heart,” his wife shared, in a press release.
If no cause of death was given, Hawaii News Now explained that the 96-year-old princess had poor health.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green ordered flags to be flown at half mast until Sunday evening.
“Jamie (his wife, Ed) is deeply saddened by the loss of Princess Abigail Keniwe Kekulaik Kawananaqua,” he said.
“Abigail is a porter of the poets of his position with dignity and humiliation, a rich life of all that you have touched, and as Ali’s tantrum that you have not seen, this is not all Jamais has a heritage devoued in Section.”
Abigail Kawananakua, the granddaughter of an Irish businessman who made his fortune on sugar plantations in Hawaii, has been adopted by the royal family aged 5, more than three decades after the royal family fell.
The Hawaiian archipelago was unified into a single kingdom in the early 19th century under the Kamehameha dynasty.
It traded independently with other nations until its annexation and occupation in 1898 by the United States.
Hawaii became fiftiethe The American state in 1959.
