Cynthia Laanui

Cynthia "Cyndi" Laanui (b. between 1912 and 1917-1943) was the haole wife of Stanley Owana Laanui, Japan's puppet ruler of the briefly reconstituted Kingdom of Hawaii. Cynthia was noted for her beauty with her red hair, freckles and green eyes. She was also noted for her lack of intelligence. Those who knew the couple assumed that Stanley married her for her looks (despite his resentment of haole rule of Hawaii). Since Stanley didn't have any real prospects at the time of their marriage, her reason for marrying him was more up in the air.

Cynthia actually proved to be a fairly competent queen. She helped oversee the dispersal of supplies and did a fair amount of charity work. She also initiated an affair with Japanese Commander Minoru Genda.

When the United States returned to retake Hawaii in 1943, Cynthia realized just how tenuous her situation was. Nevertheless, she and her husband chose to remain in Hawaii rather than take a submarine to Japan.

As U.S. forces prepared to overrun Iolani Palace, King Stanley and Queen Cynthia both realized that if they were captured alive, they would be made examples of by the U.S. Stanley shot Cynthia in the head, and then shot himself. Minoru Genda was present, and was able to mourn Cynthia only briefly before he committed seppuku.