Succession to the Hawaiian throne

**Succession to the Hawaiian throne** is determined by descent and legitimacy. By law, the crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. Hawaiian law limits succession to legitimate descendants of Kalawaiʻa I.

Queen Keʻalohilani is the current sovereign, and her heir apparent is her eldest son Prince Francis. Next-in-line is grandson Prince Michael, followed by her great-granddaughter Princess Eleanor. Fourth-in-line is the Queen's granddaughter Princess Lucy, Mrs. Mitsukuri, whom is followed by her eldest child Jade Mitsukuri as the fifth-in-line.

Any rule changes to the line of succession must be passed by the House of Representatives. The most senior member of the line of succession whom has reached the age of majority, typically the heir apparent, receives a seat on the Council of State as one of the three members *ex officio*. This council acts as the chief decision-making body for the Kingdom, and the heir apparent presides over the meetings in which the sovereign is not present.

## Current line of succession

The official line of succession is updated by the House of ʻŌpūnui, the ruling house of Hawaii. This list contains all members who are eligible to inherit the throne, as descendants of Kalawaiʻa I.

* *Kalawaiʻa I* (1883–1952)
	+ *Kalawaiʻa II* (1909–1960)
		- Keʻalohilani (born 1934)
			* **(1)** Prince Francis (born 1959)
				+ **(2)** Prince Michael (born 1986)
					- **(3)** Princess Eleanor (born 2019)
				+ **(4)** Princess Lucy, Mrs. Mitsukuri (born 1988)
					- **(5)** Jade Mitsukuri (born 2017)
					- **(6)** Betsy Mitsukuri (born 2020)
			* **(7)** Princess Angelina, Mrs. Sokolov (born 1964)
				+ **(8)** Daniel Sokolov (born 1997)
				+ **(9)** Jason Sokolov (born 2000)
				+ **(10)** Macy Sokolov (born 2001)
			* **(11)** Prince Frederick (born 1965)
				+ **(12)** Martha ʻŌpūnui (born 2004)
				+ **(13)** Julian ʻŌpūnui (born 2006)
		- **(14)** Princess Lucy, Mrs. Paulson (born 1937)
			* **(15)** Xavier Paulson (born 1960)
				+ **(16)** Xavier Paulson (born 1987)
					- **(17)** Dahlia Paulson (born 2019)
				+ **(18)** Frances Paulson (born 1990)
			* **(19)** James Paulson (born 1962)
				+ **(20)** Lucy Paulson (born 1990)
				+ **(21)** Jenna Paulson (born 1992)
				+ **(22)** James Paulson (born 1993)
			* **(23)** Lucas Paulson (born 1965)
				+ **(24)** Louanna Paulson (born 1994)
				+ **(25)** Kaine Paulson (born 1997)
				+ **(26)** Anastacia Paulson (born 2000)
		- **(27)** Princess Mildred, Mrs. Lionel (born 1939)
			* **(28)** Jane Lionel (born 1959)
				+ *Courtney Coleman* (1977–1991)
				+ **(29)** Jesse Coleman (born 1979)
					- **(30)** Elijah Coleman (born 2002)
			* **(31)** Anthony Lionel (born 1960)
				+ **(32)** Anthony Lionel (born 1988)
					- **(33)** Julianna Lionel (born 2015)
					- **(34)** Lillian Lionel (born 2016)
					- **(35)** Anthony Lionel (born 2018)
					- **(36)** Jonathan Lionel (born 2020)
			* **(37)** Clarence Lionel (born 1973)

## Current rules

### Marriages

Prior to 1972, individuals who had divorced or married a divorcé were unable to inherit the crown. This was undone with the Succession Act of 1972. However, there are still grounds for disqualification in regards to marriage that exist. The first five-in-line for the throne must always seek the ruling monarch's permission to marry; if they marry without the permission of the monarch, then they and their children from the marriage will be disqualified from the line of succession. It is unknown whether this is a strict rule within the royal family or merely a formality.

Children born outside of wedlock remain ineligible to accede to the throne, and are not included in the official line of succession. It is possible that these children can be legitimized and thus added to the line of succession after their birth should their parents eventually marry; however, if there is no eventual marriage, then they are not included. There was an initiative to allow for illegitimate children to receive succession rights in the early 2010s, but the movement failed to garner significant traction

In 2003, the House of Representatives passed legislation that legalized same-sex civil unions in Hawaii. In the bill that legalized them, it was also noted that they should additionally be treated as marriages within the context of succession, meaning that the monarch must still approve of civil unions in order for individuals to retain their place in the line of succession, and that any children born from the union – through either adoption or surrogacy – would be considered legitimate and have the right to accede to the throne. The legalization of same-sex marriage in 2012 made the same-sex civil unions rules obsolete.

### Gender

For most of Hawaiian history, the monarchy practiced male-preference primogeniture. This meant that a male would always displace a female sibling in the line of succession, even if the female sibling was older. Thus, a female could only inherit the throne if she had no male siblings. Upon the restoration of Hawaiian independence in 1925, this system was continued.

In 2012, the House of Representatives passed the Succession Act of 2012, which overturned male-preference primogeniture in favor of absolute primogeniture. This meant that the eldest child would remain the first-in-line regardless of gender or the birth of younger male siblings. The law was additionally applied retroactively, altering the line of succession to place elder female siblings ahead of their younger brothers. The law was reportedly supported by Queen Keʻalohilani and Prince Michael, but was opposed by Prince Francis because of it being applied retroactively.

### Race

Following the restoration of Hawaiian independence in 1925, a racial component to succession laws was adding, mandating that individuals must be "of the Hawaiian race" in order to maintain succession rights. The law was considered to be ambiguous, as members of the Hawaiian family often had some mixed white or Asian ancestry, despite being of predominantly Native Hawaiian ancestry. The law was intended to keep the royal bloodline "pure," in addition to preventing royals from marrying foreigners or allowing foreign interference in Hawaiian royal affairs.

Having long been a subject of controversy, race was removed from succession requirements in the Succession Act of 1972. Prince Francis would later go on to marry the Filipino Veronica Buenaventura in 1984, becoming the first person without Native Hawaiian ancestry to marry into the royal family. Prince Michael is expected to become the first monarch to have a significant amount of foreign ancestry.