Kalanikauikaalaneo Kai Keōpūolani-Ahu-i-Kekai-Makuahine-a-Kama-Kalani-Kau-i-Kealaneo (1778–1823) was a queen consort of Hawaii and the highest ranking wife of King Kamehameha I. Early life Keōpuolani was born around 1778 at an area known as Pahoehoe of Pāpōhaku, near present-day Wailuku, on the island of Maui. She was known as Kalanikauikaalaneo in her early childhood. Her name means "Gathering of the Clouds of Heaven". Her father was Kīwalaʻō, King of Hawaii island. He was the son of King Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaii island who met Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay. Her mother was Queen Kekuiapoiwa Liliha, half-sister of Kamehameha I. Their father was Keōuakupuapāikalani. Kiwalaō and Kekuiapoiwa Liliha were half-siblings through their shared mother, High Chiefess Kalola-Pupuka-Honokawahilani of Maui. As a child, Keōpuolani lived for a while in Hāna (the eastern tip of Maui), then moved back to the Wailuku area. Battle of Kepaniwai In 1790, while Keōpuolani was 11, Kamehameha attacked the island of Maui at the Battle of Kepaniwai while her great-uncle King Kahekili II was away on the island Oahu. When Maui forces under Kalanikupule lost to Kamehameha, Kalola along with her two daughters, many Maui chiefesses and Keōpuolani tried to flee to Oahu. They stopped in Molokai as sickness overcame the elderly Kalola, and were caught by Kamehameha's forces. Kalola offered her granddaughter as a future bride and the recognition of Kamehameha as the ruler of Maui in exchange for peace. Other Maui chiefesses also joined Kamehameha's court. She was given the name Wahinepio (captive women) around this time, but this name is usually associated with another chiefess. She was commonly known as Keōpuolani. Ancestry and rank Keōpūolani was among the highest alii of all the islands of Hawaii in her days, a ranking called naha. This meant she was the product of a royal half-sister and brother marriage. Her extended genealogy displays an extreme case of pedigree collapse; in the five preceding generations, the 64 possible positions for her ancestors are filled by only 30 individuals, largely due to multiple half-sibling marriages. (By comparison, Charles II of Spain, an extreme case of European royal pedigree collapse, has 32 individuals in those positions, in his case largely due to multiple uncle-niece marriages.) This lineage gave her unquestionable social and political influence, which made her a coveted marriage partner for a chief to ensure heirs to inherit the combined ranks and birthrights of both parents. She married Kamehameha in 1795 and