British Museum to highlight Hawaiian culture in new exhibition

The first visit of Hawaiian royals to London two centuries ago will feature in a new exhibit at the British Museum.

Hawai’i: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans is a “dazzling celebration of the rich artistry of Hawaiian makers, past present and future”, according to the museum.

The exhibition, which opens in January, will commemorate more than 200 years since the visit of Hawaiian King Liholiho and Queen Kamāmalu to London in 1824 when the royal delegation were seeking an alliance and protection from the Crown.

This journey to the capital included a visit to the British Museum – the first record of Native Hawaiian royals at the museum.

The exhibition will feature around 150 objects and artworks including many never seen in the UK.

Among the highlights is an ahu ʻula, a feathered cloak sent in 1810 by the first king of unified Hawaiʻi, Kamehameha I, to King George III.

Lent by King Charles III from the Royal Collection, the cloak will be on display for the first time in over 100 years, alongside the Hawaiian king’s original letter requesting support and protection from the British Crown.

Visitors to the museum will be greeted on the stairs of the Great Court by a nine-foot (2.7m) image of the god Kū, the god of warfare and governance, dressed with a contemporary loincloth and standing atop a pole rediscovered inside a historical plinth.

A finely carved drum accompanied by an ancient chant recounting early Polynesian migrations to Hawaii will feature alongside a bowl with figure, recently returned from loan to Hawaii’s Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, that represents movements of people and objects between the Pacific and the UK.

The Anglo-Franco proclamation of 1843, on loan from The National Archives, highlights the UK and France’s formal recognition of Hawaii’s independence and emphasises diplomatic bonds between the nations.

The creation of the exhibition involved “the meticulous conservation of ancestral treasures and the inclusion of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language) throughout the space”, the British Museum said.

Dr Alice Christophe, head of Oceania at the museum, said the exhibit is a tribute to Native Hawaiian makers, past and present.

She added: “It tells the story of the deep and layered relationship between Hawaii and the United Kingdom, reflecting on care, sovereignty and the complexity of allyship.

“We hope this show will spark conversations and uplift people in the archipelago and beyond.”

The exhibition will run from 15 January to 25 May 2026.