Princess Natalia

**Natalia** (born **Queenie Natalia Ng**; 22 July 1986), known as **Queenie Ng** during her entertainment career, is the wife of Prince Daniel and sister-in-law of Kāwika II.

The daughter of Hawaiian singers Bobby Ng and Betty Woo, Natalia began a career in the entertainment industry at a young age, starring in the Hawaii Kidz! musical comedy-drama series *Being Bella Song* from 1999 to 2004 along with her mother. Following the show's completion, she starred in the teen spin-off series *Bella*, which aired on Hawaii Blu from 2005 to 2008. Natalia's acting career transformed her into a teen idol, and one of the most prevalent teen superstars of the 2000s in Hawaii. She began pursuing music professionally in 2002 in addition to her acting career, releasing her debut studio album *The Queen* in July 2002. She went on to release the albums *Fly Away* in 2004, *Clover* in 2006, *Dorothy* in 2008, and *Dragonfly* in 2013, before retiring from the entertainment industry.

Throughout her career in the entertainment industry, Natalia has been affectionately referred to as the "First Daughter of Hawaii", "Hawaiian Pop Princess", and a "Unifying Force of Hawaii". She is additionally one of the best-selling Hawaiian musicians of all-time, selling over 600 thousand records in her career. Natalia's younger half-sister Xyla is also a successful musician in Hawaii.

Natalia announced her engagement to Prince Daniel, the younger brother of Kāwika II, in January 2014. They were later married on 25 April 2015 in a royal wedding ceremony. Following their marriage, Natalia received the royal title Princess of Hawaii, and changed her name from Queenie Natalia to Natalia Queenie, in order to counteract any possible confusions between herself and Queen Māhealani, the actual Queen consort of Hawaii.

## Early life

Natalia was born in Honolulu on 22 July 1986 as Queenie Natalia Ng to parents Bobby Ng and Betty Woo, both of whom are successful Hawaiian musicians of the 1970s and 80s. Her father is of Cantonese descent, while her mother was born in Hawaii to immigrants from South Korea. She spent much of her early childhood being raised by her maternal grandparents, and thus was raised bilingually in both English and Korean. She spent her early years in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, but following her parents' divorce in 1992, she was raised in the affluent Kāhala neighborhood. Natalia's maternal half-sister Xyla was later born in 1996, and Woo married Xyla's father, Hawaiian-Californian guitarist Alex Kruk in 1998. Woo and Kruk later divorced in 2003.

### Education

Natalia began her education in 1991 at La Pietra, an all-girls private school. She had been interested in performing since the age of two, and encouraged her mother to enroll her in dance classes, singing lessons, and acting classes by the time she was five. At La Pietra, Natalia became heavily involved in the school's music and drama departments. After beginning her career in entertainment in 1999, Natalia began an online schooling program due to her schedule. She graduated from high school a year early in 2003.

After graduating from high school, Natalia wished to receive a college education and enrolled in the University of Hawaii – Manoa as a theatre major with a focus in acting. Her acting schedule did not permit her to attend as a full-time student, and she initially only could attend one class a semester. While filming *Bella* in California, she enrolled in online classes. She went on to receive her bachelor's degree in theatre in 2010, after seven years of attending college.

## Entertainment career

### 1999–2004: *Being Bella Song* and early music

Natalia began her career in the entertainment industry in 1997, using her birth name Queenie Ng, when her and her mother Betty Woo auditioned for *Being Bella Song*, a Hawaii Kidz! musical comedy-drama series. The show focused on a young girl named Bella who wished to become a singer, her friends from school, and her mother who was a former singer in the 1980s. Both Ng and Woo were cast in the show, which received massive media attention due to Woo's star power.

*Being Bella Song* debuted on Hawaii Kidz! in October 1999 to the highest ratings the network has ever seen for a new program. Each season, Ng released a soundtrack featuring songs that were performed on the show. The soundtracks for seasons two, three, and five all went on to top the Hawaiian albums chart. In 2001, Ng signed a solo recording contract with Big Island Records to release music under her own name and not in connection with *Being Bella Song*. Her first single "Perfect Day" was released in the summer of 2002, which was stylistically similar to the teen pop music she performed on *Being Bella Song*. "Perfect Day" went on to reach the top five in Hawaii, and was certified platinum. Her debut studio album *The Queen* was released in September 2002, and peaked at number-two in Hawaii, additionally being certified gold.

*Being Bella Song* aired its final season in 2004, which concluded with the main character of Bella leaving Hawaii to attend the University of California, Los Angeles in California. The show's season finale was the highest-rated episode of any show broadcast on Hawaii Kidz! of all-time. Following the end of the show, Ng released her second studio album *Fly Away*, which was musically inspired by the end of the series. The album debuted atop the Hawaiian albums chart and was certified platinum. It also featured the lead single "Fly", which became Ng's first number-one single in Hawaii.

### 2005–2008: *Bella* and further music

After the conclusion of *Being Bella Song*, it was announced that a teen-targeted spin-off titled *Bella* would be airing on Hawaii Blu, beginning in 2005. The spin-off featured Ng as Bella experiencing college life in Los Angeles while attempting to pursue a music career in California. Unlike its parent show, no soundtracks were released and the amount of original songs featured on the show were minimal in order for Ng to focus on her personal music career. Additionally, the show featured much more mature subject matter, tackling more serious topics such as sexuality, mental illness, and alcohol use.

Ng released the single "Be Good to Me" during the summer of 2006. The song saw a heavy departure from the teen pop music she previously performed, instead containing more mature lyrical content and having a dance-pop and R&B sound. The song became Ng's second number-one single in Hawaii and best-selling single of all-time, being certified quadruple platinum. The single was followed by Ng's third studio album *Clover*, released in August 2006. *Clover* became Ng's best-selling album of her career, being certified double platinum and becoming the longest-reigning number-one album of 2006 in Hawaii, reigning for six consecutive weeks. The album featured a similar sound to its lead single, and Ng was praised for the maturity and growth featured in her music. Ng promoted the album with her *Be Good to Me Hawaiian Tour*, which performed shows throughout Hawaii from September 2006 to October 2006, becoming her first tour to perform only songs from her personal music career.

*Bella* aired its final episode in 2008, which like its parent series, became the highest-rated episode of any program of all-time on Hawaii Blu. Towards the end of its run, Ng transitioned into film acting, appearing in the Hawaiian teen films *The Girl Bible* (2006), *Waves* (2007), *The Rich Kids of Honolulu* (2008), and *Swim Kingdom* (2008). She won the Hawaii Blu Award for Best Actress for *Waves* and *The Rich Kids of Honolulu* at the 2007 and 2008 Hawaii Blu Awards, respectively.

### 2009–2014: Focus on music and retirement

In the summer of 2008, Ng revealed that she had begun work on her fourth studio album, and that she was excited to showcase the new music that she was working on. She later went on to state that the album was "rockier" than her previous releases, and that she had "gone back to [her] roots".

Ng released the lead single to her fourth studio album "Yellow Bricks" in February 2009. The song was characterized as pop rock, yet also saw heavy influences from pop punk and emo music. It was seen as a heavy departure from her previous release, which was praised for its maturity and growth. "Yellow Bricks" received negative reactions from fans and critics alike, who saw Ng's new sound as retreating to immature music that was not the sound she should be pursuing. Nonetheless, the song was still a success and was certified gold in Hawaii. The album *Dorothy* was later released in March 2009, and peaked at number-one in Hawaii, being certified platinum. The album saw much of the same influences seen in its lead single, and received similar reviews from fans and critics. In 2014, Ng stated in an interview that she "greatly regretted" and was "embarrassed" by the music that she released on *Dorothy*.

Following the release of *Dorothy*, Ng went on a brief hiatus from music in order to focus on her acting career. In 2011, she starred in the R-rated film *Summertime*. Ng appeared topless in the film, which caused controversy regarding her career as a former child star. Ng responded to the controversy by stating she "did it for the art" and that she isn't "a little girl anymore". Nevertheless, the film went on to be a success and won the Hawaii Blu Award for Best Comedy Film at the 2011 Hawaii Blu Awards. In 2012, she revealed she had begun work on her fifth studio album, which she stated would be a return to the style featured in 2006's *Clover*. The album's lead single "Painted Walls" was released in April 2013, and peaked at number-one in Hawaii, being certified multi-platinum. Her fifth studio album *Dragonfly* was later released in July 2013, and became the best-selling album of 2013 in Hawaii, peaking at number-one and being certified triple platinum. She went on to promote the album with the *Dragonfly World Tour*, performing shows in Hawaii, California, Japan, and South Korea from August 2013 to October 2013.

Following the announcement of Ng's engagement to Prince Daniel on 30 January 2014, Ng revealed that she'd be retiring from the entertainment industry in order to prioritize humanitarian causes, her new royal duties, and beginning a family. She added that she hoped that her fans would understand her decision, and that they'd still be able to follow her life and support her, just through a new medium.

### Discography

*Main article: Queenie Ng discography.*

* *The Queen* (2002)
* *Fly Away* (2004)
* *Clover* (2006)
* *Dorothy* (2009)
* *Dragonfly* (2013)

### Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Queenie Ng.*

## Marriage

Natalia first became introduced to Prince Daniel in 2008, while they were attending the 2008 Hawaii Blu Awards. They began a short-lived relationship that was kept under-the-radar, but decided to continue on as friends after three months. After remaining friends for several years, they later rekindled their relationship in 2011. The relationship was rumored by tabloid magazines beginning in 2012, but was not confirmed by the House of Alohalani until November 2013.

On 30 January 2014, Natalia and Daniel publicly announced their engagement, with Natalia later confirming that she'd be retiring from the entertainment industry in order to focus on humanitarian causes, her new royal duties, and beginning a family. They married in a royal wedding on 25 April 2015 at the Royal Hawaiian Basilica of Honolulu. Natalia's younger half-sister Xyla was the maid of honor at the wedding. Immediately following the wedding, Natalia received the royal title Princess of Hawaii and changed her name from Queenie Natalia to Natalia Queenie. This name change was done in response to criticism over her future title as "Princess Queenie", with many members of the public and media criticizing the name over the possible confusion there'd be with Queen Māhealani, the actual Queen consort of Hawaii, or whether people may mistakenly believe that Natalia was a future Queen consort.

On 13 May 2018, their first child was born: Alexandria. Following her birth, she was granted the royal title Duchess of Waipahu by Kāwika II. The family resides in Lanikai Palace in Kailua, Honolulu County.

## Family

The Princess has one daughter, who was born at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu.

* Alexandria, Duchess of Waipahu (born 13 May 2018)

## Titles

* **25 April 2015 – present:** *Her Royal Highness* Princess Natalia