William Charles Lunalilo was born January 31, 1835, in a coral house near Kawaiaha'o Church.  He is the son of High Chief Charles Kana`ina and High Chiefess Miriam Auhea Kekauluohi.  Both parents were ali'i, however his mother was higher rank and the 3rd highest-ranking chiefess of her time. Her father was the older, half-brother of Kamehameha I, and her mother was also a wife of Kamehameha I.

             When a name for the prince was about to be selected, his mother chanted: "I luna, i luna, i lunalilo" ("the highest, the highest, the highest of all").  Luna (high) lilo (lost) means, “so high up as to be lost to sight.” He was also named for King William IV of Britain, a friend of Hawaiian royalty and Charles was his father's name.

             Educated at the Chief's Children's School, he was a good student, winning many scholastic awards.  He had a keen memory, loved his people, had a deep sense of justice and was excellent in the use of English language.

His reign began in the middle of an economic depression, but the greatest problem he inherited was the enforcement of the law to prevent the spread of leprosy.  The arrival of Father Damien in 1873 was a great relief. 

      Unable to cope with the changing times, deeply burdened by the dwindling of his native people, and frequently ill with tuberculosis, he became addicted to alcohol.  On Feb. 3, 1874, the he died of tuberculosis at this home in Waikiki, 3 days after his 40th birthday.  His reign was the briefest of all, lasting only 1 year & 25 days.           

In his Last Will and Testament, he left his $50,000 of personal property to his father and directed that most of his land to the founding of Lunalilo Home for aged and destitute Hawaiians.  Lunalilo Home opened in 1881 just makai of where Roosevelt High School is today.  In 1929, the home moved out to Hawaii Kai where it is still.  This building went through a 4 year, $4.5 million renovation and was reopened in 2001.  Of the original 70,000 acres, these 5 acres are all that's left of Lunalilo's Estate.

            Also included in his will were the instructions for his burial.  He asked that a special tomb be built for he and his father in front of Kawaiaha'o Church.  His coffin lay in the Royal Mausoleum chapel for one year while the site was chosen and the tomb constructed.  They are the only modern ali'i not buried in the Royal Mausoleum.  

There are a couple theories about this: the first is that he "was elected by the people so he wanted to be buried close to the people."  The second is that he was still upset at the Kamehameha family because when the remains of ali'i were taken to Mauna 'Ala from the original Royal Mausoleum at 'Iolani Palace, his mother's remains were left with many others. This original Mausoleum was torn down and this picture is the only one that shows what it looked like.  No one knows why Kekauluohi was left there, but there are still many ali'i buried there.  People believe that Lunalilo took his mother’s remains and buried them at sea.  If you go to 'Iolani Palace today, in the corner closest to Kawaiaha'o, there is a grassy mound surrounded by a low iron fence and ti leaf plants that covers the graves.  There are still many ancient burials in and around the old mausoleum site.