Liliʻuokalani had learned of the pregnancy from the royal physician Georges Phillipe Trousseau in November 1882. In an effort to protect her unfaithful husband, she considered claiming the child as their own and establishing him as the next in line to the throne. This act would have been illegal. Instead, he was cared for by his grandmother Mary Purdy and financially supported by Liliʻuokalani, who adopted him under the Hawaiian tradition of "hānai". Besides ʻAimoku, she also adopted Lydia Kaʻonohiponiponiokalani Aholo and Joseph Kaiponohea ʻAeʻa. Liliʻuokalani would later succeed as Queen of Hawaii in 1891 and be overthrown in 1893. After a period as the Republic of Hawaii, the islands were annexed to the United States becoming the Territory of Hawaii. Revolutionists and annexationists openly criticized 'Aimoku's mother and the circumstances of his illegitimate birth in order to undermine the reputation of the former queen. During this politically turbulent period, 'Aimoku attended the ʻIolani School.