Princess Theresa Owana Kaohelelani Laanui (1860 - 1944) was a Hawaiian princess and prominent figure during the last years of the Kingdom of Hawaii and into the territorial period. Born in 1860, she was the daughter of Prince Gideon Kailipalaki Laanui. Her mother was Kamaikaopa. Princess Theresa was well respected among the community and authority figures of Hawaii and the United States.

As a child, she would often go to the palace of King Kamehameha V to make leis for him. She was married four times, although she only had children from her first and second marriages.

Her first husband was Alexander Joy Cartwright III, grandson of Honolulu businessman Alexander Cartwright (one of the reported founders of baseball). By this marriage she had two daughters, Princess Daisy Emmalani Cartwright and Princess Eva Kuwailanimamao Cartwright.

Her second husband was Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox (1855-1903), a prominent Hawaiian soldier and stateman nicknamed the "Iron Duke of Hawai'i". By this marriage she had a son, Prince Robert Kalanikupuapaikalaninui Wilcox and a daughter, Princess Virginia Kahoa Kaahumanu Kaihikapumahana Wilcox. She and Wilcox owned and operated two Hawaiian newspapers, called the Liberal & the Home Rule Republic, which were written in Hawaiian and English. She was received at the White House during Wilcox's service (1900-1903) as the Territory of Hawaii's first Delegate to Congress.

External Links

Biography from the Hawaii Royal Family's official site (http://www.geocities.com/keouanui/Theresa.html)