David Kamehameha (1828âÂÂ1835) was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Born May 20, 1828, he was the firstborn and eldest son of Mataio Kekà «anaà Âûa and Elizabeth Kënaûu. He was a grandson of King Kamehameha I through his mother and was named in his grandfather's honor and after the biblical king David, in respect to his parents' conversion to Christianity. He had three brothers, Moses Kekà «ÃÂiwa (1829âÂÂ1848), Lot KapuÃÂiwa (1830âÂÂ1872), Alexander Liholiho (1834âÂÂ1863), and a sister Victoria KamÃÂmalu (1838âÂÂ1866). He had other siblings, an unnamed, elder half-brother from his mother's previous marriage to Kahalaiûa Luanuûu, who died young; and half-sister Ruth Keûelikà Âlani (1826âÂÂ1883), from his father's previous marriage. Laura Fish Judd, wife of missionary Gerrit P. Judd, described the prince as "a boy fine enough for any mother not of the seed royal to glory in."
In the Hawaiian tradition of hÃÂnai, he was given in adoption to his "grandmother", Queen Kaûahumanu, alongside Keûelikà Âlani. David's birth had helped reconcile Kaûahumanu to his mother's refusal to marry her half-brother, Kamehameha III, in accordance with the wishes of Kamehameha I. His aunt, KekÃÂuluohi, helped the old Queen take care of him. Queen Kaûahumanu was the most powerful figure in Hawaii at the time, serving as kuhina nui (premier) and regent for Kamehameha III; she often found trouble in dealing with the young king's guardian, Boki, the royal governor of Oûahu, who publicly accused her of scheming to place David Kamehameha on the throne, an accusation she denied. When news reached her that Boki was coming to kill her, she said "I do not fear death planned by this son of ours, but he will have [come] himself to kill me and these grandchildren of mine who will stay by me." Luckily, Boki was convinced by David's father, Kekà «anaà Âûa, to give up his idea of declaring war on the dowager Queen. When he was four in 1832, Kaûahumanu died of intestinal illness at her house in the MÃÂnoa Valley, and afterwards, David was either raised by KekÃÂuluohi, although Kënaûu still had a hand in his upbringing. Her mother succeeded as kuhina nui in Kaûahumanu's place and styled herself Kaûahumanu II.
He died of unknown causes on December 15, 1835, in Honolulu, in his mother's stone house near the present Iolani Palace. He was laid to rest in the Pohukaina Tomb on the grounds of the future ûIolani Palace (both the first and second palace had yet to be built) and later his remains were transported to the Mauna ûAla Royal Mausoleum. In 1836, Kapaûakea and KeohokÃÂlole named their third son David KalÃÂkaua, probably in honor of the premier's dead son.
Below is a simplified family tree showing the immediate relatives of David Kamehameha: