Prince Moses Kekuaiwa (20 Jul 1829 - 24 Nov 1848) was a grandson of Kamehameha the Great, being the son of his daughter Kinau, also known as Kaahumanu II. He was born the eldest son of Mataio Kekuanaoa and Elizabeth Kinau. He would have two brothers Alexander Liholiho, Lot Kapuaiwa and a sister Princess Victoria Kamamalu.
He was according to Hawaiian customs hanaied (adopted) by High Chief Kaikio'ewa, Governor of Kauai and was heir presumative to the position of Governor of Kauai. His handsome features and strong physique were exactly like a picture of his grandfather, Kamehameha the Great.[1]
He was 10 years old when his uncle, Kamehameha III, placed him in the Chiefs' Children's School, a select school exclusive for the children of the highest chiefly rank in the kingdom, eligible to be rulers and was under the teachings of Mr. & Mrs. Amos Star Cooke. Under an official order of the king, he was proclaimed eligible to rule the Hawaiian Kingdom. He was believed[who?] to be next in line for the throne after Kamehameha III because of his age.
He was not a favorite student of the Cookes.[citation needed] The Cookes along with their fellow missionaries that Hawaiian children were wild and unruly and that the royal children were the worst. Unlike American children, ali'i children were considered to be kapu and sacred subjects. It would be unthinkable for a kahu (servant) to strike a royal charge and could be punished to the extant of death. The Cookes however, did not hesitate to enforce their rules and would beat the children with a ruler, deprive them of their meal and confining them to their rooms. On one occasion Mr. Cooke struck Alexander on the head and Moses replied, "he keiki a ke ali'i oia nei." Translated as "He is the son of the chief." Cooke replied "I am the King of this school."[2]
He was among the first to graduate from Royal School. He died in 1848 at Honolulu in a measle epidemic that had struck Hawaii. He was 19-years old and was unmarried and without any issues.