Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero[a] ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho[2]) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title Ke Aliʻi o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻAina of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855, to November 30, 1863.
Kamehameha IV
January 11, 1855 – November 30, 1863
January 11, 1855
Kawaiahaʻo Church
February 9, 1834
Honolulu, Oʻahu, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
November 30, 1863 (aged 29)
Honolulu, Oʻahu, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
February 3, 1864[1]
Kekūanaōʻa
Kamehameha III (hānai)
Succession[edit]
Upon his return Alexander was appointed to the Privy Council and House of Nobles of Kamehameha III in 1852.[11] He had the opportunity to gain administrative experience that he would one day employ as King. During his term he also studied foreign languages and became accustomed to traditional European social norms.
He assumed the duties of Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the Hawaiian Islands and began working to reorganize the Hawaiian military and to maintain the dilapidated forts and cannons from the days of Kamehameha I. During this period, he appointed many officers to assist him including his brother Lot Kapuāiwa, Francis Funk, John William Elliott Maikai, David Kalākaua, John Owen Dominis and others to assist him.[12][13][14] He also worked with Robert Crichton Wyllie, the secretary of war and navy and the minister of foreign affairs, who supported creating a Hawaiian army to protect the islands from California adventurers and filibusters who were rumored to be planning to invade the islands.[15]
End of reign[edit]
Alexander died of chronic asthma on November 30, 1863, and was succeeded by his brother, who took the name Kamehameha V.[28] At his funeral, eight hundred children and teachers walked to say goodbye. He was buried with his son at the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii on February 3, 1864.[29]
Queen Emma remained active in politics. With the end of the Kamehameha dynasty and King William C. Lunalilo dying without an heir of his own, Queen Emma ran unsuccessfully to become the Kingdom's ruling monarch. She lost to David Kalākaua who would establish a dynasty of his own — the last to rule Hawaii.[30]
The Feast of the Holy Sovereigns is celebrated annually in the Episcopal Church in Hawaii on November 28, honoring Kamehameha IV and Emma.[31] The rest of the Episcopal Church observes this as the feast day of Kamehameha and Emma, King and Queen of Hawaii, but does not use the name "Feast of the Holy Sovereigns".[32]