In 1865 Ruth Keelikōlani openly challenged Princess Likelike's right to carry the kahili. This re-opened a long genealogy fight within the royal family when Likelike, in turn, questioned Ruth's direct decent from Kamehameha I through her grandfather, Pauli Kaʻōleiokū. She was assisted by her brother, David Kalakaua who drafted a family letter quoting many genealogies that name Kalaniʻōpuʻu as the father of aʻōleiokū. According to Kalakaua, Konis hers elf was heard many times to state she was not descended from Kamehameha but from Kalaniʻōpuʻu as even Kānekapōlei herself has stated.[2]
Many historians doubt the accuracy of the genealogy of Pauli Kaʻōleiokū being attributed to Kamehameha I and have a great deal of evidence to support the conclusion.[3]
When Captain Cook tried to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, his two sons by Kalaniʻōpuʻu were identified as having followed the group to the shore. In some accounts, only one son was present.[5]
^Louis Claude Desaulses de Freycinet; Marion Kelly (1978). Hawaií in 1819: A Narrative Account. Department of Anthropology, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. p. 108.