The Princess Bride: Hawaiian Heiress Gets Married Amid Legal Dispute
Abigail Kawananakoa, 91, weds Veronica Gail Worth, who is at the center of a battle over control of millions of dollars.
Princess Abigail Kawananakoa, the 91-year-old Hawaiian heiress who inherited $215 million from the Campbell Estate, married longtime companion Veronica Gail Worth on Sunday.
An announcement emailed to numerous friends and acquaintances by Worth said the couple were married by retired state Supreme Court Justice Steven Levinson, who supported same-sex unions and wrote an opinion calling marriage a decades before it was legalized in America. Worth said she and the princess have been in a relationship for 21 years.
The announcement thanked loved ones “for their congratulations and best wishes for a long, healthy and happy marriage together.”
Worth, 64, is a key figure in a legal fight over the heiress’s fortune — which has been under control of Kawananakoa’s former attorney of almost 20 years, Jim Wright, after she suffered a stroke. Wright has said Worth has repeatedly sought large sums of money.
But Michael Lilly, Kawananakoa’s attorney and a former state attorney general, said in documents that her doctor found she was doing “very well” and her mental health was “really back to baseline” upon release from the hospital.
When the princess dies, much of her money is supposed to go to the Abigail K. K. Kawananakoa Foundation, established in 2001. Its mission is to preserve Native Hawaiian culture and history, and equip Native Hawaiians with scholarships, health care and legal advice.
If Kawananakoa is found competent, Wright has said he won’t contest what she tries to do with her money.
In a phone conversation he had with her following the stroke, Wright said Kawananakoa seemed different. The court appointed Wright as successor trustee after two physicians said she was unable to manage her affairs. He’s also said he has photographic evidence of Worth’s physical abuse of the princess.
As of August, Worth received about $700,000 per year in an allowance from the princess. Worth has described herself as Kawananakoa’s secretary, but it’s unclear what work she performs.
This year, Wright said Worth sought $26 million in James Campbell Co. stock, and the deeds to Kawananakoa’s residence and two adjoining properties.
Shortly after Wright spoke to several media outlets about his concern, Kawananakoa sought a gag order against him.
In 1985, Worth and her then-husband, Earl Harbin, were indicted on two counts of attempted theft by the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. They tried to sell stolen electronics for money or drugs, officers said at the time.
Worth received probation with community service and Harbin was sentenced to prison.
The couple divorced around that time.
