Kamehameha IV

Alexander was born on February 9, 1834, in Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu. His father was High Chief Mataio Kekūanaōʻa, Royal Governor of Oʻahu. His mother was Princess Elizabeth Kīnaʻu the Kuhina Nui or Prime Minister of the Kingdom. He was the maternal grandson of Kamehameha I, first monarch of all the islands. Alexander had three older brothers, David Kamehameha, Moses Kekūāiwa and Lot Kapuāiwa, and a younger sister, Victoria Kamāmalu. At birth, Alexander was adopted by his uncle, King Kamehameha III. The king visited the newborn child, congratulated his half-sister, and left a note declaring, "The child is mine." This was an act of political and familial reconciliation between the two siblings who were at odds since 1833 when the king had terminated the regency of his half-sister Kīnaʻu. Missionary Levi Chamberlain wrote, the King "seems to be much pleased with his ward Keiki hookama." He was baptized at the Kawaiahaʻo Church, on February 27 by Reverend Hiram Bingham I. Although he and his queen Kalama had two of biological sons named Keaweaweʻulaokalani, they both died young. Thus, he raised Alexander as his heir. Alexander was formally proclaimed as heir to the throne on April 7, 1853, in accordance with Article 25 of the 1852 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He was named ʻIolani Liholiho after his uncle King Kamehameha II. ʻIolani meant "royal hawk" after the Hawaiian hawk (ʻio) whose high flight signified royalty. Liholiho means "glowing", a contraction of Kalaninuiliholiho or Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu meant "the great chief with the burning back kapu". His name 'Iolani means "hawk of heaven", or "royal hawk". Education and travel Alexander Liholiho was educated by Congregationalist missionaries Amos and Juliette Cooke at the Chiefs' Children's School (later known as Royal School) in Honolulu. He was accompanied by 30 attendants (kahu) when he arrived, but they were sent home and for the first time Liholiho was on his own. At the same time, he embraced Anglophilia and its main tenants, professing the faith of Anglicanism as a founder of the Hawaii Reformed Catholic Church, as well as enjoying its culture such as pantomimes and dramas of Shakespeare. ==Succession==

Upon his return Alexander was appointed to the Privy Council and House of Nobles of Kamehameha III in 1852. 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. 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. ==Reign==

Kamehameha III died on December 15, 1854. On January 11, 1855 Alexander took the oath as King Kamehameha IV, succeeding his uncle when he was only 20 years old. His first act as king was to halt the negotiations his father had begun regarding Hawaii's annexation by the United States. His ailing health worsened. At the age of four, the young prince died on August 27, 1862. The cause of the prince's death is unknown: at the time, it was believed to be "brain fever" or meningitis. Later speculation has included appendicitis. Alexander had heard a rumour that Neilson was having an affair with Queen Emma, and after drinking heavily shot his friend in the chest. On August 26, 1861, he issued a declaration of neutrality in the American Civil War. ==Resisting American influence==

At the time of Alexander's assumption to the throne, the American population in the Hawaiian islands continued to grow and exert economic and political pressure in the Kingdom. Sugar producers, in particular, pushed for annexation by the United States in order to have free trade with the United States. ==Legacy==

Alexander and Queen Emma devoted much of their reign to providing quality healthcare and education for their subjects. They were concerned that foreign ailments and diseases like leprosy and influenza were decimating the native Hawaiian population. In 1856, Kamehameha IV decreed that December 25 would be celebrated as the kingdom's national day of Thanksgiving, accepting the persuasions of the conservative American missionaries who objected to Christmas on the grounds that it was a pagan celebration. Six years later, he would rescind his decree and formally proclaim Christmas as a national holiday of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The first Christmas tree would come into the islands during his brother's reign. Under his eight-year reign the Kingdom saw the many territory additions. Laysan Island was annexed on May 1, 1857, Lisianski Island was annexed on May 10, 1857, and Palmyra Atoll was annexed on April 15, 1862. Some residents of Sikaiana near the Solomon Islands believe their island was annexed by Kamehameha IV to Hawaii in 1856 (or 1855). Some maintain that through this annexation, Sikaiana has subsequently become part of the United States of America through the 1898 annexation of "Hawaii and its dependencies". The U.S. disagrees. ==End of reign==

Alexander died of chronic asthma on November 30, 1863, and was succeeded by his brother, who took the name Kamehameha V. 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. 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. The Feast of the Holy Sovereigns is celebrated annually in the Episcopal Church in Hawaii on November 28, honoring Kamehameha IV and Emma. 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". ==References==