Finishing touches near complete for Hawaiian heiress Abigail Kawananakoa’s royal tomb

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaiian heiress Abigail Kawananakoa is in her final resting place at Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu.

Her tomb of black granite and flecks of gold is on the makai side of the entrance to Mauna Ala, has a 15-by-15-foot foundation and is 8 feet tall.

Kawananakoa, known as a princess for her royal lineage, wanted to be interred in the Kalakaua crypt.

But it was already full — with the last person buried there in 1953, her uncle David Kalakaua Kawananakoa.

“It mirrors the Wylie tomb and if you look at Kalakaua behind me, it’s all black,” said Robbie Alm, special administrator for Kawananakoa’s estate.

“I can do my piece. I wanted to do it well and make sure she was where she wanted to be in the way she wanted to be here,” he added.

Kawananakoa got approval from the state to build a new tomb at the Royal Mausoleum, which is the burial place of Hawaiian royalty and includes members of the Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties.

The royal tomb also has two pūloʻuloʻu, a symbol that royalty is present, and a guardian in front of the tomb.

During her lifetime, Kawananakoa supported Iolani Palace, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Merrie Monarch Festival and several other Hawaiian causes.

Now her foundation will continue to support those causes.

“Her foundation for Native Hawaiians, it may be the last alii trust we’ll see created,” said Alm.

Kawanankoa’s public memorial at Iolani Palace was in January, after her death last December at age 96.

She was buried in a small private ceremony at Mauna Ala on March 27.

This week, crews are putting in the finishing touches to the new tomb.

The Royal Mausoleum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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