Lot Kapuaiwa, His Majesty King Kamehameha V founded the Royal Order of Kamehameha I in I865 to defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii. After the overthrow of Her Majesty Queen Lili'iuokalani, the Provisional government declared the Royal Order of Kamehameha I a threat. The Order went underground until 1903 when His Royal Highness Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole lead a torchlight ceremony around the statue of Kamehameha I declared in public the restoration of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, announced the reorganization of the Hawaiian Royal Societies, and created the Hawaiian Civic Clubs.

Today, the organization continues to guard, maintain, and preserve the rituals and the memory of the ruling Chiefs of Hawaii.