Who was Abigail Kinoiki Kawananakoa? Hawaii's last princess dies at 96
HONOLULU, HAWAII: Hawaiian heiress Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, the island's final princess, died at 96 on Sunday, December 11. "Abigail will be remembered for her love of Hawaii and its people," her wife Veronica Gail Kawananakoa, 69, who was by her side, said in a statement, "and I will miss her with all of my heart."
Abigail's net worth is estimated at $215 million. Her death was announced formally on Monday morning December 12 outside Iolani Palace, America's only royal residence where the Hawaiian monarchy dwelled but now serves mostly as a museum. Governor Josh Green ordered the US and Hawaii state flags to be flown at half-staff at the state Capitol and state offices until sunset this Sunday, saying "Hawaii mourns this great loss," reported Daily Mail.
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Senator Jarrett Keohokalole and Representative Daniel Holt, co-chairs of the Legislative Native Hawaiian Caucus, issued a joint statement today on the passing of Princess Abigail Kawānanakoa.
— Hawaiʻi Senate Democrats (@HawaiiSenate) December 12, 2022
Photo credit: Bishop Museum pic.twitter.com/pE35aOldHK
She managed to fund various causes over the years, including scholarships for Native Hawaiian students, opposing Honolulu's rail transit project, supporting protests against a giant telescope, donating items owned by King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi`olani for public display, including a 14-carat diamond from the king´s pinky ring, and maintaining `Iolani Palace, reported the source. Aside from the generous contribution she loved dashing money and had a curiosity for what people would do for money. "She was always curious about what people would do for money," said Jim Wright, who was her personal attorney since 1998 until she fired him in 2017 during a bitter court battle over control of her trust.
When the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu asked for a $100,000 gift to mark the canonization of St Marianne. The heiress told him she would give the church the money only if she could get a photo of Pope Benedict XVI accepting her check, Wright recalled. When the bishop agreed Abigail was disappointed. "She was really hoping they would tell her to buzz off," Wright said. Meanwhile, she found it pleasing when Dalai Lama refused to accept her monetary gifts in 2012, Wright said, "She was so pleased that somebody actually had some integrity." She was engaged briefly to a man, but most of her long-term relationships were with women.
The late royals lineage included the royal family that once ruled the island and James Campbell, her great-grandfather, an Irish businessman who made his fortune as a sugar plantation owner and one of Hawaii´s largest landowners. He had married Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine Bright. Their daughter, Abigail Wahiika`ahu`ula Campbell, married Prince David Kawānanakoa, who was named an heir to the throne. Their daughter Lydia Kamaka`eha Liliu`okulani Kawananakoa Morris had Abigail with her husband William Jeremiah Ellerbrock. Moreover, she is called the last princess because there are other remaining descendants of the royal family who don't claim any titles.
Kimo Alama Keaulana, assistant professor of Hawaiian language and studies at Honolulu Community College, called her "the last of our alii," using the Hawaiian word for royalty, "She epitomizes what Hawaiian royalty is - in all its dignity and intelligence and art." Abigail's other passion included horse breeding. She was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2018, with the American Quarter Horse Association noting she was the industry's "all-time leading female breeder at the reins of an operation that has produced the earners of more than $10 million." However, after she suffered a stroke in 2017 a judge approved her lawyer Wright as a trustee over her trust control. She claimed she wasn't impaired, fired Wright as her lawyer, and married Veronica Gail Worth, her partner of 20 years. In 2018, Abigail attempted to amend her trust to ensure that her wife would receive $40 million and all her personal property, according to court records.