In November of 1823, King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamehamalu, accompanied by an entourage of nine other Hawaiian ali‘i, embarked on a voyage to England to meet with King George IV.

The Hawai‘i State Archives has preserved from the records of the Foreign Office of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i a letter dated "Ka Mahoe Mua 1824. It was written by Kamehameha II (‘Iolani Liholiho) shortly before his death in London.

Liholiho tracked each phase of the moon, the only constant in the voyage, and dates each letter according to the Hawaiian lunar calendar. While in London, the entire Hawaiian delegation contracted the measles. Tragically, King Kamehameha II, at the age of 28, and Queen Kamehamalu, age 22, did not recover from the illness and died.

The following is an English translation of the letter.

Ka Māhoe mua (July) 1824.
To Pa‘alua, Ka‘akumu and younger brother,

Much love to you all.
In the month of Ka‘aona (May) we reached England. One of our members, Kaunuhaimalama is dead. He died just outside of England. He was ill for two days and died on the 13th, the night of Hua. The following day which was Akua, he was buried at sea in the same month of Ka‘aona. On the fifth day, the 18th which was Lā‘aukūkahi, we arrived in England and landed. We got into carriages and the next day Lā‘aukūlua, we reached London and stayed at the Hotel. On the fourth day the King’s representative arrived and told us he was to see to all our needs and the King will pay all expenses. We are having everything we desire. The King of England has taken a great liking to us. We have not seen King George yet. We all got sick in the month of Hinaia‘ele‘ele (June), but have all recovered with the exception of three of us, Kamehamalu, Kapihe and myself.
Here is another word to you. If the Commander of the ship should ask for a wooden house on O‘ahu, you must grant his request. You are not to charge him any harbor fees, for he is taking our letter to you. Give him 5 pigs and 10 boxes of sweet potatoes.
I love you all dearly. We will remain until we see the King. When we obtain that which will be of great benefit to us, then we will return. Aloha,
‘Iolani