Hawaiian relics, including Queen Liliuokalani’s personal flag, to be returned

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An important flag and documents related to Queen Liliuokalani are on their way home.

Civil Beat reports that State Archivist Adam Jansen will be headed to New York later this month to bring Hawaii items from Bonham’s auction house home.

One of the items is Queen Liliuokalani’s Royal Standard, her personal flag that flew over her Washington Place home on the day the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown.

The Queen's Royal Standard. — The Queen's Royal Standard.(Bonham's)

The other items Jansen will be retrieving are personal letters and documents of Col. John Soper, who was in charge of the military troops that stood in opposition to the Queen.

“I will be treating the Queen’s personal flag as representing the Queen herself. It has mana. The flag is an important piece of the story of Hawaii coming back to the people after more than a century,” said Jansen.

The estate of Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa and Damon Estate heiress and philanthropist Brendan Damon Ethington each donated $30,000 for a total of $60,000 to prevent the historically valuable materials from ending up in the hands of private collectors.

A screenshot of the lots associated with Col. John Soper on the Bonhams website on Oct. 17,... — A screenshot of the lots associated with Col. John Soper on the Bonhams website on Oct. 17, 2022. Bonhams received the state’s Notice of Claim letter on Friday, Oct. 14. Three lots containing documents and items claimed as property of the State of Hawaiʻi have since been withdrawn.(Bonhams)

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