Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop was the last surviving member of the Kamehameha dynasty. Her refusal to accept the crown allowed for the Kalakaua dynasty to come to power.
Bernice Pauahi Bishop (December 19, 1831 - October 16, 1884) was a Hawaiian chief and philanthropist. She was the great-granddaughter and last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I. Her estate is the largest private landowner in the state of Hawaii. The revenues from these lands are used to operate the Kamehameha Schools, which were established in 1887 according to her last will and testament.
Born in Honolulu to high chiefs Paki and Konia, Pauahi was raised by kuhina nui (prime minister) Kina'u and was later educated by Protestant missionaries.
Pauahi married businessman Charles Reed Bishop in 1850 over the objections of her parents. Very few people attended her wedding at her request. One of the few witnesses was that of Princess Elizabeth Kekaanaiu, her cousin. They had no children of their own; they adopted a son from her cousin Ruth Ke'elikolani but the infant died at the age of six months.
King Kamehameha V offered her the throne before he died, but Pauahi declined.
After her death, her husband helped establish the Kamehameha Schools in 1887, and created the Bishop Museum in Honolulu in 1889 as a memorial to her.
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