A book in development will provide a glimpse into the life of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
The book, which will compile the letters written to and from Queen Liliʻuokalani and the Kalākaua family, will be published by Hui Hānai, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Hawaiʻi’s last monarch.
To share more about the project, Hui Hānai board members Hardy Spoehr, S. Haunani Apoliona, and chair Diane Peters-Nguyen joined HPR on The Conversation.
“We are so thrilled that this project is actually going to be coming to fruition,” Peters-Nguyen told HPR. “It’s part of our work in perpetuating the Queen’s legacy.”
Spoehr explained that the letters offered an intimate view of Liliuʻokalani's family relationships, as well as the many personal tragedies she suffered throughout her life.
“The letters …. move from a time when she was just a young girl, a lady, but young in her teens, to a time when she got married, of course, to John Dominis, all the way through to the very sad ending of Princess Kaʻiulani,” Spoehr said.
“During that period of time, you actually see the maturity of the queen, and just how brilliant she was,” he explained. “I think it's important to realize that the queen is really at the crossroads of Hawaiian history.”
The forthcoming publication is part of a project that was started by the late historian David W. Forbes, who is known for archiving and publishing Queen Liliʻuokalani's diary entries as well as her autobiography, “Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen.”
More information about publications released by Hui Hānai can be found here.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 1, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
