“Your Affectionate & Unhappy Friend”

Queen Victoria is associated with Britain's great age of industrial expansion, economic progress and, especially, empire. (At her death, it was said, Britain had a worldwide empire on which the sun never set.)  Emma was adopted by Dr Rooke, an Englishman. On June 9, 1856, Emma married Alexander Liholiho, King Kamehameha IV, and then became Queen Emma.

The two queens were unlike in more than the size of their realms.  Victoria was almost a generation older than Emma.  Victoria had nine children, the last one born in 1857, a year before Emma’s one and only child.  Queen Victoria and Queen Emma wrote each other from time to time, sharing news of family events, happy and tragic.

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