Background
Born May 20, 1828, he was the firstborn and eldest son of Mataio Kekūanāoʻa and Elizabeth KīnaʻUniversity He was a grandson of King Kamehameha I through his mother and was named in his grandfather"s honor and after the biblical king David, in respect to his parents" conversion to Christianity. He had other siblings, an unnamed, elder half-brother from his mother"s previous marriage to Kahalaiʻa Luanuʻu, who died young.
And half-sister Ruth Keʻelikōlani (1826–1883), from his father"s previous marriage.
Career
Laura Fish Judd, wife of missionary Gerrit P. Judd, described the prince as "a boy fine enough for any mother not of the seed royal to glory in."
Queen Kaʻahumanu was the most powerful figure in Hawaii at the time, serving as kuhina nui (premier) and regent for Kamehameha III. She often found trouble in dealing with the young king"s guardian, Boki, the royal governor of Oahu, who publicly accused her of scheming to place David Kamehameha on the throne, an accusation she denied. When he was four in 1832, Kaʻahumanu died of intestinal illness at her house in the Mānoa Valley, and afterwards, David was either raised by Kekāuluohi, although Kīnaʻu still had a hand in his upbringing.
Her mother succeeded as kuhina nui in Kaʻahumanu"s place and styled herself Kaʻahumanu World War II He died of unknown causes on December 15, 1835 in Honolulu, in his mother"s stone house near the present Iolani Palace. He was laid to rest in the Pohukaina Tomb on the grounds of the future ʻIolani Palace (both the first and second palace had yet to be built) and later transported to the Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum.
