Two hundred years after Hawaiian royalty first set foot in London, their story will be brought to life in a new British Museum exhibition titled “Hawai‘i: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans”.

Described by the museum as “a dazzling celebration of Hawaiian artistry – past, present, and future,” the exhibition opens in January 2026 and explores the deep cultural and historical ties between Hawai‘i and the United Kingdom.

The show marks just over two centuries since King Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Queen Kamāmalu traveled to London in 1824, seeking an alliance and protection from the British Crown. During their visit, the royal couple made a historic stop at the British Museum — the first recorded visit by Native Hawaiian royals.

Among the 150 objects and artworks on display, many of which have never been seen in the UK, is a rare treasure: a brilliant yellow and red feathered cloak known as an ‘ahu ʻula. Sent in 1810 by King Kamehameha I, the first ruler of a unified Hawai‘i, as a gift to King George III, the cloak symbolized diplomacy and respect between the two island kingdoms. The piece, on loan from King Charles III’s Royal Collection, will be displayed publicly for the first time in over a century, alongside Kamehameha’s original letter requesting British support.

Greeting visitors in the museum’s Great Court will be an awe-inspiring nine-foot-tall statue of the god Kū, the Hawaiian deity of war and governance. The wooden figure, newly dressed in a contemporary loincloth, stands proudly atop a rediscovered historic plinth — a striking welcome that bridges the ancient and the modern.

Other highlights include a finely carved drum paired with a traditional chant recounting early Polynesian voyages to Hawai‘i, and a beautifully sculpted bowl with figure (umeke ki‘i) that reflects the movement of people and ideas across the Pacific. The exhibition will also feature the Anglo-Franco Proclamation of 1843, on loan from The National Archives, which formally recognized Hawai‘i’s independence — a key moment in the islands’ diplomatic history.

According to the British Museum, curators worked closely with Hawaiian cultural experts, emphasizing the use of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language) and the careful conservation of ancestral treasures.

“Hawai‘i: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans” runs from 15 January to 25 May 2026 at the British Museum. Photo by Eric Pouhier, Wikimedia commons.