Captain Julius A. Palmer Jr. of Massachusetts was her friend for three decades, and became her spokesperson when she was in residence at Boston and Washington D.C., protesting the annexation of Hawaiʻi. In the nation's capital, he estimated that she had 5,000 visitors. When asked by an interviewer, "What are her most distinctive personal graces?", Palmer replied, "Above everything else she displayed a disposition of the most Christian forgiveness." In covering her death and funeral, the mainstream newspapers in Hawaii that had supported the overthrow and annexation recognized that she had been held in great esteem around the world. In March 2016, "Hawaiʻi Magazine" listed Liliʻuokalani as one of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.