When Victorian-era Hawaiian royalty needed to escape the demands of their magisterial duties, they went to Hānaiakamalama, once the mountain home of Hawaii's Queen Emma, wife of King Kamehameha IV. Descended both from Hawaiian chieftains and the Englishman John Young, Emma was one of the earliest symbols of Hawaii's cosmopolitan culture. Today the palace ushers visitors into the past. Its charming Hawaiian-Victorian setting projects a sense of what domestic life might have looked like, and its feather work embellishments give an insight into why Hawaiian birds always seem to have a chip on their shoulder. Guests to the living museum can take in spectacular artifacts, including Hawaiian quilts and portraits as they tour the six stately rooms, two oceanfront lanai, and meticulously manicured grounds.