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Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later.
Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, he was of royal descent and a grandnephew of King Kamehameha I. He was educated at the Royal School by American missionaries and was proclaimed eligible for the throne by King Kamehameha III. After the death of King Kamehameha V, he was elected to the throne in 1873 by a unanimous decision of the legislature of the kingdom. Due to his popularity and status as Hawaii's first elected monarch, he became known as "The People's King". He died a year later from tuberculosis.
In the 2000 publication; "Kamehameha's Children Today", authors Charles Ahlo, Rubellite Kawena Kinney Johnson and Jerry Walker state that Lunalilo's father, Charles Kanaʻina was the great-great grandson of Kamehameha I. Kanaʻina's maternal grandfather, Palila Nohomualani was Kamehameha I's grandson through the monarch's first born child named Kahiliʻōpua, daughter of Kalolaa-kumukoa, also known as Kalolawahilani. This genealogy is based on previously unpublished family trees compiled by the DeFries family. (2025). 9780996780308, N& 257; Mea Hawai& 699;i/Native Books. ISBN 9780996780308
He was declared eligible to succeed by the royal decree of King Kamehameha III and sent to the Chief's Children's School (later called the Royal School) when it was founded by missionaries Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke. Learning to speak both Hawaiian and English, he gained a mastery of English literature and love of Shakespearian soliloquies. According to one of his cousins, Elizabeth Kekaaniau, Lunalilo was groomed to one day assume the Governorship of Oahu after Kekūanaōʻa's death.
Before the Great Mahele Lunalilo's holdings of 239 ʻāina were second only to Kamehameha III. As a result of the Mahele, he relinquished 73 percent of his land. As of 1848, at the age of thirteen, he was still one of the largest landowners after the King, inheriting the land and personal property given to his mother father and grandmother by Kamehameha I. In 1850 Lunalilo gave up another large amount of land to the government reducing his holdings to 43 lots.
Affectionately known as "Prince Bill," he was one of the royals (besides Kalākaua and Liliʻuokalani) to write music. He composed Hawaii's first national anthem, "E Ola Ke Aliʻi Ke Akua," which was Hawaii's version of "God Save The King". He wrote the song in fifteen minutes in a contest hosted by newspaper publisher Henry Whitney in 1862 for the birthday of Kamehameha IV. He won the contest and was awarded ten dollars.
Lunalilo served on the Privy Council of State, the advisory council for the monarch, from 1863 to 1865, during the reign of his cousin King Kamehameha V. He also served on the House of Nobles, the upper house of the legislature, traditionally reserved for the high chiefs, from 1863 to 1872.
During his reign as king, it was proposed that he marry Queen Emma, the widow of Kamehameha IV, but this proposal came to nothing due to Queen Emma's devotion to her late husband. They remained friends and it was said he considered naming her as his heir before he died. According to Emma's cousin Peter Kaeo, there were gossips that the King would marry a Tahitian chiefess from Bora Bora. Although never marrying, the king took Eliza Meek (1832–1888), the hapa-haole daughter of Captain John Meek, the harbor pilot of Honolulu, and sister-in-law of his chamberlain Horace Crabbe, as his mistress.
"Whereas, it is desirable that the wishes of the Hawaiian people be consulted as to a successor to the Throne, therefore, notwithstanding that according to the law of inheritance, I am the rightful heir to the Throne, in order to preserve peace, harmony and good order, I desire to submit the decision of my claim to the voice of the people."
Lunalilo, unlike his more conservatism opponent, wanted to amend the constitution to make the government more Democracy by removing property qualifications for voting. It was decided that there would be a popular election to give the people a chance to have their voices heard. However, because the constitution gave the legislature the power to decide who would be the next king, the popular election would be unofficial. Lunalilo urged the people of the Kingdom to have their voices heard.
The popular vote was held on January 1, 1873, and Lunalilo won by an overwhelming majority. The week after, the legislature unanimously voted Lunalilo king. It has been speculated that the reason for the unanimous vote was because each legislator was required to sign his name on the back of his ballot, and the legislators were afraid to go against the wishes of the people. Queen Emma later wrote in a letter that hundreds of Hawaiians were ready to tear to pieces anyone who opposed Lunalilo.
At Lunalilo's investiture ceremony, held on January 9, 1873, at Kawaiahaʻo Church, the courtyard was filled to capacity and a large crowd watched from outside. Because Lunalilo's popularity was so great, and because he became king through a democratic process, he became known as "The People's King."
For example, the Kingdom legislature prior to 1864 met in two houses: The House of Nobles and the House of Representatives. The members of the House of Nobles were appointed by the King and the Representatives were elected by popular vote. Lunalilo served in the House of Nobles from 1863 through 1872. Under King Kamehameha V, the two houses of legislature were combined into one. Lunalilo wished to restore the Bicameralism legislature. He also wanted to add a provision to the constitution that required the king to include a written explanation to accompany any veto by the king. He wanted cabinet ministers to be heard in the House of Representatives.
The King also wanted to improve Hawaii's economic situation. The Kingdom was in an economic depression, with the whaling industry rapidly declining. Commerce groups asked the king to look at sugar to improve the economy and recommended that a treaty be drawn with the United States to allow Hawaiian sugar to enter the nation tax-free. To make such a treaty, many thought that the Kingdom would have to offer the Pearl Harbor area to the United States in exchange. There was much controversy over this, with both the public and in the legislature. When Lunalilo saw this opposition, he dropped the proposal.
During Lunalilo's reign, a mutiny took place in the small Hawaiian army. Some members of the army revolted against the drillmaster and the adjutant general. The king interviewed the troops involved in the mutiny and he persuaded them to lay down their arms. Following this, the king disbanded the army apart from the military band. From that point on, the Kingdom had no armed forces until King Kalākaua restored them.
On his deathbed, he requested a burial at Kawaiahaʻo Church on the church's ground. He wanted, he said, to be "entombed among (my) people, rather than the kings and chiefs" at the Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu Valley. This was due to a feud between Lunalilo and the Kamehameha family over his mother Kekāuluohi's exclusion from the list of royalty to be buried there. Thus, on November 23, 1875, his remains were taken from the Mausoleum, where it had rested temporarily awaiting the completion of the Lunalilo Mausoleum, to the completed tomb on the grounds of Kawaiahaʻo Church. His father requested a second funeral and a 21-gun salute from Kalākaua like during his first funeral. Kalākaua granted the second funeral but refused to allow the 21-gun salute. During this procession, eyewitness reports stated that a sudden storm arose, and that twenty-one rapid thunderclaps echoed across Honolulu which came to be known as the "21-gun salute."
Like his predecessor, Lunalilo did not designate an heir to the throne. It was said he had intended for Queen Emma to succeed him, but died before a formal proclamation could be made. The most prevalent explanation of this delay is regarding his democratic principles: he wished to have the people choose their next ruler. However, the constitution of 1864 had charged the legislature, not the people, with the task of electing the next king. In the end, Kalākaua of the House of Kalākaua was voted to succeed Lunalilo as king. The election provoked the Honolulu Courthouse riots in which supporters of Queen Emma targeted legislators who supported Kalākaua; thirteen legislators were injured, with J. W. Lonoaea the only one to die from his injuries.
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