[1][7][8] In 1873, under the reign of King Lunalilo, the Royal Guard was disbanded after a mutiny occurred concerning the strict treatment of the soldiers under their haole captain, Joseph Jajczay.

[9] Lunalilo would die the next year, and the Royal Guard was reestablished as an elite, all native force of 60 men following the ascension of King David Kalākaua.

[10] In 1884, Robert Hoapili Baker, referencing the small scale of the guard and its improbability to properly defend the nation, reported the conditions of the state of the guard and the military of the kingdom, and that they were well capable of performing their duties as a trained force; though they only had so far been involved in a riot at an immigration depot in 1883 :[11][12] “It is to be regretted that an institution such as this [Military], which ought to be considered as one of the fundamental institutions of the Government, should be allowed to remain inoperative and in a condition discreditable to a nation ranking on a political scale and influence with other powers, but unable to provide for its own safety…” In 1885, the guard participated in Queen Emma's funeral procession, during which they introduced the uniforms they're now associated with.

For a brief period, the Provisional Government of Hawaii kept a small Royal Guard unit left to protect Queen Lili‘uokalani at Washington Place, though it too was soon disbanded on February 28, 1893.

However, after the 1880s, enlistees of the guard are seen wearing a dark blue service dress tunic and a white spiked cork pith helmet during formal occasions.