During Captain Cook's third voyage of exploration in 1779, he mentioned King Kalaniʻōpuʻu's favorite wife and queen, Kānekapōlei. He and his men spelled her name many different ways including "Kanee-Kabareea", "Kanee-cappo-rei", "Kanee Kaberaia", "Kainee Kabareea", and "Kahna-Kubbarah".[17] Cook's second-in-command, Lieutenant James King, recounted her role in preventing the kidnapping of her husband and their two sons: