It’s always sad to know your true love really loves another. The pain can be lessened somewhat by knowing that, of your love’s 21 loves, you’re Numero Uno. Such was the life of a Queen in ancient Hawaii…

Queen Kaahumanu was born in a cave near Kauiki Head on Maui in 1772. The US wasn’t united back then. The Queen, of course, wasn’t a queen yet. You could tell that because she was born in a cave, although there could have been a leak in the thatch roof of her parent’s home at the time.

War was raging throughout the kingdom of Hawaii back in those days. Spears. Canoes. Sticks and stones. Broken bones. A little bloody here and there. The kids were not allowed to watch.

“Chiefs were a dime a dozen so she latched on to one who would be king—Kamehameha the Great.”Kaahumanu was not a precocious child. She knew a good thing when she saw it and she saw King Kamehameha The Great as Martha Stewart would. As a good thing.

When Kaahumanu was only ten years old, the neighborhood prophet sized her up (those were women of size back then) and declared she would be loved by a powerful chief and become the wife of a king.

That’s all Kaahumanu needed. Zoom. Chiefs were a dime a dozen so she latched on to one who would be king—Kamehameha the Great. At 17 they were married in a traditional ceremony on Maui, honeymooned somewhere special without telling all the relatives, and began their new life together.

With 20 other wives, Kamehameha the Great would find his time and resources heavily taxed (not to mention a few other things). He called Kaahumanu the favorite of his 21 wives.

Captain George Vancouver, a fine military man and friend of Kamehameha, agreed. He said Kaahumanu was the most beautiful woman in all the South Seas. He would know, being a sailor and all.

“One of her first acts was called “Ai Noa” which means “free eating.”Not only was Kaahumanu a beautiful Queen, she was smarter than the average wife (when you have 21 wives, someone has to be average). When Kamehameha died in 1819 the Queen was 47.

One of her first acts was called “Ai Noa” which means “free eating.” That single move completely toppled the ancient Hawaiian system of religious law and allowed Christianity to take a more prominent role in Hawaiian culture.

Sadly, Queen Kaahumanu died in 1832. But she left a legacy of streets, highways, elementary schools, and shopping centers named after her.

Want to know the best places to eat in Hawaii? Click over to Ono Dining for totally biased reviews on Hawai's best (and not so best) restaurants.