the queen
Liliʻuokalani's Waikiki: the queen the show's hula honours
Hawaiʻi's last reigning monarch, her own luau on this shore, and why a hula was built around her.
Reserve the Pāʻina luau ↗Liliʻuokalani, briefly
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Reign | January 1891 – January 1893 |
| Status | The only queen regnant, and the last sovereign, of the Hawaiian Kingdom |
| Best-known song | “Aloha ʻOe,” one of the best-known Hawaiian compositions anywhere |
| Waikiki connection | Hosted a luāu at her own residence, Hamohamo, in 1869 |
A princess who hosted a luau here first
In 1869, well before she became queen, Liliʻuokalani held a traditional luāu at Hamohamo, her residence on the Waikiki shore, to entertain a visiting Duke of Edinburgh — a luāu on this coastline is older than any hotel now standing on it.
The last reigning monarch
She reigned from January 1891 to January 1893, the only woman and the last sovereign to hold the Hawaiian throne.
A composer first
Across her lifetime Liliʻuokalani wrote dozens of songs, among them “Aloha ʻOe,” still sung and recorded around the world today.
Why a hula, and why her
The show's centrepiece hula takes her as its subject — a choice that fits a queen remembered as much for her music as for her reign.
Waikiki as a royal retreat
Long before Kalākaua Avenue existed, Hawaiian royalty came to this shoreline to surf; the custom of marking an occasion here with hula and a shared meal reaches back further than the resorts that now line the beach.
What the show does with her story
The hula doesn't attempt to tell her whole biography — it's one dance, in one evening, built around a historical figure that gives the night's story somewhere real to stand.