As you exit the Territorial Office Building make a right on King Street and carefully cross busy Punchbowl Street. On the southeast corner of King and Punchbowl sits the grounds of Kawaiahaʻo Church.
As you enter the church grounds you will notice a small structure to your right surrounded by a wrought iron fence. This is the mausoleum of King William Lunalilo.
Upon the death of King Kamehameha V on December 11, 1872 there was no direct heir to the throne, so the Hawaii Legislature met to choose a new monarch. Prince William Lunalilo, a descendant of a half brother of Kamehameha I, was selected to be the new king.
Lunalilo never married and after a little over a year as king he died of consumption, leaving his estate to needy Hawaiians. There is a widely held belief that he was poisoned.
Prior to his death he asked his father to bury him on the grounds of Kawaiahaʻo Church with his people rather than with the other royalty of Hawaii at the new Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu.
The mausoleum was designed Robert Lishman, who was at the time supervising the construction of the Aliʻiolani Hale nearby.
