Last of Old Nobility of Hawaii Dead

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6844, 23 February 1929, Page 13

Last of Old Nobility of Hawaii Dead

Solemn Rites are Said at Funeral for Last of Island Royalty

The solemn rites of a funeral for a member of the royal family of Hawaii marked the burial Sunday of the high chieftainess Elizabeth Kekaaniauokalani Kalaninuiohilaukapu Pratt, who died recently at the age of 94 years, the last survivor of the court circles of the middle of the last century. The high chieftainess was selected as one of the seven boys and seven girls attending the chiefs’ school in Honolulu, and five of her classmates ascended the throne of Hawaii. After the death of former Queen Liliuokalani 10 years ago, Mrs. Pratt was the only surviving graduate of the famous school. Mrs. Pratt was a member of the court of King Kamehameha 111., who reigned from 1833 to 1854, and was thereafter continuously associated with royal circles until the overthrow of the monarchy nearly half a century later. She was known as the most beautiful girl in Kamehameha IV.’s court, but despite the wooing of Hawaiian chiefs, she married a Boston man, who later rose to a high place in the monarchy. Hawaiian societies, whose membership is restricted along ancestral lines the Hale o na Alii, Hui Kaahumanu, and the daughters and sons of Hawaiian warriors—kept watch over the body in turns. Among those in charge of the watches was Mrs. J. F. Woods, formerly the Princess Kalanianaole, whose first husband was buried with similar ceremonies eight years ago. Kawaiahao Church, from which nearly all of Hawaii’s royalty have been buried, was the scene of the funeral, which in accordance with custom was said in the Hawaiian language. During the services the church choir chanted songs of farewell to Hawaii’s "aliis.”