RECENT RESEARCH — About 25 years ago, a new "nugget" began to make its way into biographical summaries of Emperor Norton. The claim was that Kamehameha V, King of the Hawaiian Islands from 1863 until his death in 1872, recognized the Emperor over the U.S. government. This claim gained new traction in 2020, when it was added to the Wikipedia entry on Emperor Norton — with two footnotes. But, as our analysis reveals, the references are bogus — and the claim itself appears to be unsubstantiated. Beware of truthiness! 

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