Maui Tragedy: The King’s Statement of Sorrow and Hope

On August 11, 2023, His Majesty King Edmund K. Paki-Silva II, Sovereign Monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, released a solemn message titled “King’s Statement of Sorrow.”

This royal statement mourns the lives lost in the devastating Maui fires and offers words of compassion, hope, and strength to the Hawaiian people.

The King acknowledged the profound silence after tragedy — a silence filled with the presence of ancestors and the grief of those left behind. He called on the lāhui (nation) to seek truth with clarity, not speculation, and promised that if the fires were accidental, they would be accepted — but if caused by wrongdoing, justice will be sought with full force.

“If not, I will bring to full force the Kingdom's Law Enforcement Officers to bring those perpetrators to stand before the People’s International Indigenous Criminal Court… True justice will be served.”

King Edmund urged the people to let their hearts be filled not with bitterness, but with forgiveness, compassion, and love, and to remember that their loved ones were blessings whose memories can enrich their lives.

He reaffirmed the strength of the Hawaiian people, declaring:

“He poʻe Hawaiʻi kākou, he poʻe o ka ʻāina. He hohonu a olakino ko mākou aʻa. He aupuni mākou i hoʻonohonoho ʻia e ke Akua, a he ikaika mākou no ka maikaʻi.”

We are Hawaiians, people of the land. Our roots are deep and healthy. We are a Kingdom ordained by God, and a force of good.

Through his Statement of Sorrow, the King honors those lost, comforts the grieving, and pledges to lead the people through sorrow into healing, justice, and hope.

Nou ke Akua ke Aupuni o Hawaiʻi — The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi belongs to God.