Royal Guards of Hawaii
The Royal Guard of the Hawaii National Guard is an Air National Guard ceremonial unit which is uniformed in a manner similar to the royal bodyguard of the Kingdom of Hawaii of the late 19th century. The original 50-man unit had been disbanded by King Lunalilo after the barrack mutiny of 1873, reestablished by King Kalakaua, and finally abolished after the monarchy fell during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom at the end of the 19th century.
Royal Guard of the Hawaii National Guard
The current Royal Guards were established on November 16, 1963; the unit is an honor guard, with a mandate to preserve historical ties.[1] Each guardsman is a Hawaiian resident, a member of the Hawaii Air National Guard, of full or partial Hawaiian descent. The unit appears in support of the Governor at official State and other public functions; less frequently, the unit appears at ceremonies involving descendants of former Hawaiian royalty.
In 1963, the Royal Guards consisted of 14 men. It has grown to a strength of 42.