Choosing An Heir To The Hawaiian Throne
His sister and only named Heir Apparent to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria Kamāmalu had died childless in 1866 and through the remainder of his reign, Kamehameha V did not name a successor. He died on December 11, 1872 while the preparations for his birthday celebration were underway. As Lot lay bedstricken, he answered those that came to visit him: "The Good Lord cannot take me today, today is my birthday". He was buried in the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii known as Mauna ʻAla.
He was the last ruling monarch of the House of Kamehameha. According to his Constitution of 1864, Article 24: "The Crown is hereby permanently confirmed to His Majesty Kamehameha V, and to the Heirs of His Body Lawfully Begotten, and to their Lawful Descendents in a Direct Line..." The legislature chose to use a later part of that same article to select a new king. The legislature declared an election for the office, won by Kamehameha V's cousin William Charles Lunalilo.
Read more about this topic: Kamehameha V
Famous quotes containing the words choosing, heir and/or throne:
“Although I’ve risen! and my back is bold.
My tongue is brainy, choosing from among
Care, rage, surprise, despair, and choosing care.
I’m semi-splendid within what I’ve defended.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“We do the same thing to parents that we do to children. We insist that they are some kind of categorical abstraction because they produced a child. They were people before that, and they’re still people in all other areas of their lives. But when it comes to the state of parenthood they are abruptly heir to a whole collection of virtues and feelings that are assigned to them with a fine arbitrary disregard for individuality.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)
“And though the shady gloom
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The sun himself withheld his wonted speed,
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As his inferior flame
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He saw a greater Sun appear
Than his bright throne or burning axle-tree could bear.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)