PRINCE ALBERT KUNUIAKEA’S BODY BORNE IN STATE TO THE CAPITOL

Kamehameha III.  Prince Albert.  Queen Kalama.

PRINCE ALBERT AS AN INFANT.

From a picture hanging on the walls of the home of the late Prince Albert Kunuiakea. Made about 1853.

The Program of the Ceremonies Today.

In the old throne room of the Capitol Building, where royalty once held sway, the remains of Prince Albert Kunuiakea were laid in state yesterday afternoon. At 6 o’clock to the accompaniment of muffled drums and the solemn tread of soldiery the casket containing the body of the last heir presumptive of the Kamehamehas was brought from his late residence in Palama to the old royal estate where the Prince as a boy had been raised in the family of Kamehameha III. The procession from the residence was headed by a drum corps followed by four companies of the First Regiment of the National Guard of Hawaii. Behind the troops came the hearse bearing the royal casket, flanked by young Hawaiian chiefs bearing large and small feather kahilis. These were novel in the startling array of beautiful colored feathers and in the adaptation of ancient funeral customs. Behind the hearse came the mourners, the chiefs and chiefesses according to rank as recognized among the Hawaiians. When the military filed into the Capitol grounds they divided on each side of the driveway allowing the hearse to pass between serried lines of soldiers standing at present arms. Col. Soper and Capt. Hawes of the Governor’s staff, in full uniform, met the remains at the front entrance of the Capitol.

The casket was carried into the throne room and deposited upon a bier overspread with a beautiful pall of heavy black velvet faced with yellow silk. At the head was a magnificent feather kahili of black and yellow and candelabra authorized by the Roman Catholic church. Four huge kahilis, the tabu marks of the royal presence, designated the sacred enclosure and within this, six chiefs, three on each side of the bier, were placed upon watch, waving small kahilis in unison over the casket. From the old throne of the Kalakauas the crown flag of Hawaii was suspended and over the entrances the Hawaiian colors were draped. A beautiful array of palms upon the dais, together with the picturesque old throne room chairs, formed a pleasing picture. When the beautiful crystal candelabra were illuminated the scene beneath was spectacular.

The main staircase from the hallway was lined with palms. The waving of the kahilis, and the chanting of the genealogy of the Prince were continued through the night and will be a part of the weird ceremony until the casket is borne from the palace.

The committee on decorations was as follows: Mrs. Carrie Robinson, Mrs. Helen Holt, Mrs. Mary Beckley, Mrs. Ena, Mrs. A. P. Taylor, Mrs. Emmeline Magoon, Mrs. Alice Hutchinson, Miss Hilda Burgess, Miss May Low, Harry Davison, J. McGuire.

From 11 a. m. to 1 p. m. today the body will lie in state in the old throne room of the Capitol. From 1 to 1:20 p. m. the Roman Catholic service will be said, Pro Vicar Libert officiating. A detail of the National Guard was assigned as a guard of honor yesterday afternoon and will remain under arms until the procession moves this afternoon.

The order of procession today appears elsewhere in a By Authority notice.

[Might anyone know where this portrait is today?]

(Pacific Commercial Advertiser, 3/15/1903, p. 1)

Sunday Advertiser, Volume I, Number 11, Page 1. March 15, 1903.