British Museum to Showcase Hawaiian Royal History in Major 2026 Exhibition

The British Museum will open a groundbreaking exhibition next year exploring the remarkable story of Hawaiian royalty and their historic connections with the United Kingdom. Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans runs from 15 January to 25 May 2026, commemorating 200 years since Hawaiian King Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Queen Kamāmalu visited London seeking alliance and protection from the British Crown.

The exhibition marks a significant moment in how museums present Pacific cultures, having been developed in collaboration with Native Hawaiian knowledge-bearers in what the British Museum calls a “co-stewarded” approach. From shaping the narrative to conserving ancestral treasures, Hawaiian community partners were involved throughout the process, with the Hawaiian language featured prominently throughout the gallery space.

Royal Treasures on Display

Among the exhibition’s 150 extraordinary objects is a magnificent feathered cloak (ʻahu ʻula) sent in 1810 by Kamehameha I, the first king of unified Hawaiʻi, to King George III. Lent by His Majesty The King from the Royal Collection, this is the largest known example of its kind and will be displayed publicly for the first time in over a century, accompanied by the Hawaiian king’s original letter requesting support and protection.

Visitors will be greeted by a powerful nine-foot image of Kū, the god of warfare and governance, dressed in contemporary loincloth and standing atop a pole rediscovered inside a historical plinth ahead of the exhibition. Inside the gallery, a finely carved drum accompanied by ancient chants recounting early Polynesian migrations sets the scene, while the Anglo-Franco proclamation of 1843—on loan from The National Archives—highlights Britain and France’s formal recognition of Hawaiian independence.

Beyond Captain Cook

While Hawaiʻi is often remembered in Britain as the place where Captain James Cook died during his 1778-79 voyage, this exhibition shifts focus to movements and stories initiated from Hawaiʻi itself. Settled around AD 1000 by skilled Polynesian seafarers navigating by stars and migratory bird patterns, the Hawaiian archipelago developed a rich culture that would eventually reach across oceans to forge diplomatic ties with distant kingdoms.

The 1824-25 royal visit to London—which included the first recorded visit of Native Hawaiian chiefs to the British Museum—marked a turning point in relations between the two kingdoms. The exhibition explores this diplomatic journey and the cultural exchange it represented, telling a story of allyship and sovereignty that remains relevant two centuries later.

A New Museum Approach

Dr Alice Christophe, Curator and Head of Oceania at the British Museum, emphasized the exhibition’s collaborative nature: “This co-stewarded exhibition is a tribute to Native Hawaiian makers, past and present. At its core, it tells the story of the deep and layered relationship between Hawaiʻi and the United Kingdom, reflecting on care, sovereignty, and the complexity of allyship.”

The exhibition includes contemporary Hawaiian artworks alongside historical treasures, demonstrating the continued vitality of Hawaiian culture and the ongoing movement of objects and people between the Pacific and Britain. A stunning bowl with figure, recently returned from loan to Hawaiʻi’s Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, embodies these continued connections.

British Museum Director Nicholas Cullinan noted: “This extraordinary exhibition not only reveals the beauty and significance of Hawaiian culture, but also highlights the journeys of people, objects, and stories across time and oceans, showing how these connections continue to resonate and inspire today.”

Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans opens 15 January 2026 in The Joseph Hotung Exhibition Gallery. Tickets start from £14, with under-16s free when accompanied by a paying adult. The exhibition is supported by Lynne and Marc Benioff. A companion catalogue will be published by British Museum Press in January 2026.