January 18, 1871 – King Wilhelm I of Prussia is proclaimed German Emperor.

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Emperor of Germany, Emperor of the Germans, Franco-Prussian War, Frankfurt Parliament, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, German Emperor, Hall of Mirrors, Otto von Bismarck, Palace of Versailles, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm I of Prussia

After the Holy Roman Empire was abolished on August 6, 1806, the first attempt at creating a unified German Empire came in the wake of the Revolutions of 1848. In 1849 the liberal Frankfurt Parliament offered the title and position of “Emperor of the Germans” (German: Kaiser der Deutschen) to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia.

However, the King declined to accept the title and the office of Emperor with the belief it was “not the Parliament’s to give.” Friedrich Wilhelm IV believed that only the German Princes had the right to make such an offer, in accordance with the traditions of the Holy Roman Empire.

This new German Empire forged by Otto von Bismarck, Minister President of Prussia and Chancellor of the North German Confederation, would be a federal monarchy; the emperor would be the head of state and president of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, the grand dukes of Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hesse, among others, as well as the principalities, duchies and of the free cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen).

King Wilhelm I of Prussia, who was to be the Emperor of this new state, also had difficulty accepting the Imperial title. One of the issues at hand was what would be the official title of this new Emperor?

The title “Emperor of the Germans,” which we have seen had been proposed by the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, was ruled out by Wilhelm for the similar reasons his brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia refused the title.

Wilhelm considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and was chosen “By the Grace of God,” and not by the people in a popular monarchy. But more in general, Wilhelm was unhappy about a title that looked artificial (like he viewed Napoléon’s title), having been created by a constitution. He was also afraid that the position of Emperor would overshadow the Prussian crown.

Despite Wilhelm’s hesitation at becoming Emperor he did prefer the title “Emperor of Germany” (German: Kaiser von Deutschland). However, that title would have signaled a territorial sovereignty over the other German kings and princes which was unacceptable to the South German monarchs, such as Ludwig II of Bavaria. Many south German sovereigns did not desire to be dominated by the Prussian Hohenzollerns.

A compromise was needed. The title German Emperor was carefully chosen by Otto von Bismarck, after intense discussion which continued up until the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as Emperor at the Palace of Versailles during the Siege of Paris.

Since the title “Emperor of Germany” suggested sovereignty over the other German states, the title German Emperor was a title that meant to signified the Emperor was a first among equal and fellow sovereigns.

Proclamation of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles

Wilhelm accepted this title begrudgingly and on January 18, 1871 Wilhelm I was proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The title German Emperor became the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire.

The title had been initially introduced earlier within the January 1st 1871 constitution and lasted until the official abdication of Wilhelm II on November 28, 1918.

Under the imperial constitution, the empire was a federation of states under the permanent presidency of the king of Prussia. Thus, the imperial crown was directly tied to the Prussian crown.

July 22, 1848: Birth of Adolph-Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

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Adolf-Friedrich V of Mecklenburgh-Strelitz, Adolf-Friedrich VI of Mecklenburg-Strelitz., Augusta of Cambridge, German Empire, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt, Wilhelm I of Germany, World War I

Adolph-Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (July 22, 1848 – June 11, 1914) was reigning grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1904 to 1914.

Biography

His Highness Prince Adolph Friedrich August Victor Ernst Adalbert Gustavus Wilhelm Wellington of Mecklenburg was born in Neustrelitz, the only surviving child of Friedrich-Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, and Princess Augusta of Cambridge.

Adolph-Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Following the death of his grandfather Grand Duke Georg on 6 September 6, 1860, Adolph-Friedrich became the heir apparent to the grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz with the title of Hereditary Grand Duke and the style, His Royal Highness.

Adolph-Friedrich took part in the Franco-Prussian war and represented his father at the crowning of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor at Versailles.

His father, Friedrich-Wilhelm was a large land owner with more than half of the entire grand duchy was his personal property. Adolph-Friedrich succeeded his father as grand duke on May 30, 1904.

Friedrich-Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Father)

Princess Augusta of Cambridge (Mother)

His mother, Grand Duchess Augusta, was disgusted at her son’s military ways. She wrote to her niece, Mary of Teck, “Strelitz that was never a Military State, suddenly is all drums and fifes, … such a pity, a bad imitation of (Mecklenburgh) Schwerin & small German Courts, whilst we were a Gentlemanlike Civilian court!”

In 1907 Grand Duke Adolph-Friedrich V announced that he would grant Mecklenburg-Strelitz a constitution, but this was met with opposition from nobles. In his attempt to create a constitution he offered to pay $2,500,000 to the national treasury if the nobles and land-owning classes dropped their opposition. In 1912 he repeated attempts to create a constitution for Mecklenburg-Strelitz, which along with Mecklenburg-Schwerin were the only European states without one.

In January 1914, Adolf-Friedrich was reported to be the second richest person in Germany after the Emperor William II with a fortune of $88,750,000.

Marriage and children

Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt

Adolph-Friedrich was married on April 17, 1877 in Dessau to Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt. She was born Princess Elisabeth Marie Frederica Amelia Agnes in Wörlitz, the third child of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. Her nickname in the family was “Elly”.

His mother commented on his wife, “She welters in happiness at her luxurious “Schloss” wearing a new Paris dress daily, Diamonds, also, when we are quite entre nous – Yes, she does enjoy being a Grand Duchess! poor dear, I am glad she does, for I never did.”

Adolph-Friedrich and Elisabeth had four children:

* Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg (1878–1948) married June 23, 1899 and divorced December 31, 1908 Count George Jametel (1859–1944), married secondly on August 11, 1914 Prince Julius Ernst of Lippe (1873–1952)
* Duchess Jutta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1880–1946) married Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro
* Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1882–1918)
* Duke Karl Borwin of Mecklenburg (Karl Borwin Christian Alexander Arthur, Herzog von Mecklenburg-Strelitz; October 10, 1888 – August 24, 1908); killed in a duel with his brother-in-law Count George Jametel, defending his sister’s honor.

Adolph-Friedrich VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Grand Duke Adolph-Friedrich V died in Berlin on June 11, 1914, aged aged 65; two weeks before the assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria, whose death would drag Grand Duke Adolph-Friedrich V‘s son and successor, Adolph-Friedrich VI, into World War I.

June 15, 1888: Death of German Emperor Friedrich III, King of Prussia

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Frederick III of Germany, German Emperor, German Empire, King of Prussia, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Throat Cancer, Victoria Princess Royal, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II of Germany, Year of the Three Emperors

Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm of Prussia was born in the New Palace at Potsdam in Prussia on October 18, 1831. He was a scion of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of Prussia, then the most powerful of the German states. Friedrich’s father, Prince Wilhelm (future German Emperor and King of Prussia), was a younger brother of King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV and, having been raised in the military traditions of the Hohenzollerns, developed into a strict disciplinarian.

Prince Friedrich’s mother was Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the second daughter of Charles-Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie-Dorothea of Württemberg.

In 1851, his mother sent Friedrich to England, ostensibly to visit the Great Exhibition but in truth, she hoped that the cradle of liberalism and home of the industrial revolution would have a positive influence on her son. Prince Albert took Friedrich under his wing during his stay but it was Albert’s daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, only eleven at the time, who guided the German prince around the Exhibition.

Friedrich only knew a few words of English, while Victoria could converse fluently in German. He was impressed by her mix of innocence, intellectual curiosity and simplicity, and their meeting proved to be a success. A regular exchange of letters between Victoria and Friedrich followed.

Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom

Friedrich proposed to Victoria in 1855, when she was 14 years old and he was 23. The betrothal of the young couple was announced on May 19, 1857, at Buckingham Palace and the Prussian Court, and their marriage took place on January 25, 1858 in the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace, London. Victoria too had received a liberal education and shared her husband’s views. Of the two, Victoria was the dominant one in the relationship.

The couple often resided at the Crown Prince’s Palace and had eight children: Wilhelm in 1859, Charlotte in 1860, Heinrich in 1862, Sigismund in 1864, Victoria in 1866, Waldemar in 1868, Sophia in 1870 and Margaret in 1872. Sigismund died at the age of 2 and Waldemar at age 11, and their eldest son, Wilhelm, suffered from a withered arm—probably due to his difficult and dangerous breech birth, although it could have also resulted from a mild case of cerebral palsy.

When his father succeeded to the Prussian throne as King Wilhelm I of Prussia on January 2, 1861, Friedrich became the Crown Prince of Prussia.

Three days after Friedrich was confirmed to be suffering from cancer, his father Emperor Wilhelm I died aged 90 at 8:22 a.m. on March 9, 1888, upon which Friedrich became German Emperor and King of Prussia. His son, Wilhelm, now Crown Prince, telegraphed the news to his father in Italy. Later the same day, Friedrich wrote in his diary that he had received the telegram upon returning from a walk, “…and so I have ascended the throne of my forefathers and of the German Kaiser! God help me fulfill my duties conscientiously and for the weal of my Fatherland, in both the narrower and the wider sense.”

Germany’s progressive elements hoped that Wilhelm’s death, and thus Friedrich’s succession, would usher the country into a new era governed along liberal lines. Logically, Friedrich should have taken as his regnal name either Friedrich I (if the Bismarckian empire was considered a new entity) or Friedrich IV (if the new empire was considered a continuation of the old Holy Roman Empire, which had had three emperors named Friedrich); he himself preferred the Friedrich IV. However, on the advice of Bismarck that this would create legal problems, he opted to simply keep the same regnal name he had as king of Prussia, Friedrich III.

The new Emperor reached Berlin at 11 p.m. on the night of March 11; those who saw him were horrified by his “pitiful” appearance. The question now was how much longer the mortally ill emperor could be expected to live, and what, if anything, he could hope to achieve. In spite of his illness, Friedrich did his best to fulfill his obligations as Emperor.

Immediately after the announcement of his accession, he took the ribbon and star of his Order of the Black Eagle from his jacket and pinned it on the dress of his wife; he was determined to honor her position as Empress. Too ill to march in his father’s funeral procession, he was represented by Wilhelm, the new Crown Prince, while he watched, weeping, from his rooms in the Charlottenburg Palace.

As the German Emperor, he officially received Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (his mother-in-law) and King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway, and attended the wedding of his son Prince Heinrich to his niece Princess Irene. However, Friedrich III reigned for only 99 days, and was unable to bring about much lasting change. The majority of the German ruling elite viewed Friedrich III’s reign as merely a brief interim period before the accession of his son Wilhelm to the throne.

An edict he penned before he ascended to the throne that would limit the powers of the chancellor and monarch under the constitution was never put into effect,although he did force Robert von Puttkamer to resign as Prussian Minister of the Interior on June 8, when evidence indicated that Puttkamer had interfered in the Reichstag elections. Dr. Mackenzie wrote that the Emperor had “an almost overwhelming sense of the duties of his position.”

In a letter to Lord Napier, Empress Victoria wrote “The Emperor is able to attend to his business, and do a great deal, but not being able to speak is, of course, most trying.” Friedrich III had the fervour but not the time to accomplish his desires, lamenting in May 1888, “I cannot die … What would happen to Germany?”

From April 1888, Friedrich III became so weak he was unable to walk, and was largely confined to his bed; his continual coughing brought up large quantities of pus. In early June, the cancer spread to and perforated his esophagus, preventing him from eating. He suffered from bouts of vomiting and ran high fevers, but remained alert enough to write a last diary entry on June 11: “What’s happening to me? I must get well again; I have so much to do!”

Friedrich III died in Potsdam at 11:30 a.m. on June 15, 1888, and was succeeded by his 29-year-old son as Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Under Emperor Wilhelm II, his parents and maternal grandparents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s hopes of a liberal Germany were not fulfilled. He believed in the autocracy and Conservative principles of his paternal grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I.

Frederick is buried in a mausoleum attached to the Friedenskirche in Potsdam. After his death, William Ewart Gladstone described him as the “Barbarossa of German liberalism.” His wife, Empress Victoria, now calling herself the Empress Friedrich, went on to continue spreading her husband’s thoughts and ideals throughout Germany, but no longer had power within the government.

The early death of Emperor Friedrich III is a tragedy in German history. For if he lived and was able to enact his Liberal policies the history of Germany would have been much different.

June 11, 1829: Marriage of Wilhelm I of Prussia and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

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Eliza Radziwill, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick William IV of Prussia, Prince Charles of Prussia, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Wilhelm I of Germany

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Augusta Marie Luise Katharina; September 30, 1811 – January 7, 1890)
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Augusta was the second daughter of Charles-Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie-Dorothea of Württemberg.

Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; March 22, 1797 – March 9, 1888) of the House of Hohenzollern was King of Prussia from January 2, 1861 and the first German Emperor from 18 January 18, 1871 to his death. Wilhelm was the first head of state of a united Germany, and was also de facto head of state of Prussia from 1858 to 1861, serving as regent for his brother, Friedrich-Wilhelm IV.

Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Meeting with Wilhelm

Augusta was only fifteen years old when, in 1826, she first met her future husband, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia who was more than fourteen years older than her. Wilhelm thought the young Augusta had an “excellent personality,” yet was less attractive than her older sister Marie, whom Wilhelm’s younger brother, Charles of Prussia, had already married. Above all, it was Wilhelm’s father who pressed him to consider Augusta as a potential wife.

While the marriage of Augusta and Willem was bumpy the marriage of Marie and Charles was happy. Although they had married for family and dynastic reasons, their marriage had been happy and harmonious, and they had been deeply attached to each other.

Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

At this time, Wilhelm was in love with the Polish Princess Elisa Radziwill. The Crown Prince at the time was Wilhelm’s elder brother, Crown Prince Friedrich WilhelM (later King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV). He and his wife Elisabeth Ludovika, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his Queen Friederike, Margravine of Baden, had been married three years and had no children. Although it was not anticipated that they would remain childless (which turned out to be the case), the court did expect that Wilhelm, as heir presumptive to the throne, should make a dynastic marriage and produce further heirs.

King Friedrich-Wilhelm III was indulgent of the relationship between his son Wilhelm and Elisa, but the Prussian court had discovered that her ancestors had purchased their princely title from Emperor Maximilian I, and she was not deemed noble enough to marry a potential King of Prussia. Ironically, Crown Princess Elisabeth Ludovika, who as a Bavarian princess was considered to be of correct rank, counted both Bogusław Radziwiłł and Janusz Radziwiłł among her ancestors, albeit through female descent.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

It was suggested by some courtiers that if Eliza Radziwill was adopted by a family of adequate rank, then a marriage with Prince Wilhelm was possible. In 1824, the Prussians turned to the childless Emperor Alexander I of Russia to adopt Elisa, but the Russian Emperor declined. The second adoption plan by Elisa’s uncle, Prince August of Prussia, likewise failed because the responsible committee considered that adoption does not change “the blood.” Another factor was the Mecklenburg relations of the deceased Queen Louise’s influence in the German and Russian courts (she was not fond of Elisa’s father).

Thus, in June 1826, Wilhelm’s father felt compelled to demand the renunciation of a potential marriage to Elisa. Thus, Wilhelm spent the next few months looking for a more suitable bride, but did not relinquish his emotional ties to Elisa. Eventually, Wilhelm asked for Augusta’s hand in marriage on August 29, (in writing and through the intervention of his father). Augusta agreed and on October 25, 1828, they were engaged.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Historian Karin Feuerstein-Prasser has pointed out on the basis of evaluations of the correspondence between both fiancées, what different expectations Wilhelm had of both marriages: He wrote to his sister Charlotte, the wife of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, with reference to Elisa Radziwill: “One can love only once in life, really” and confessed with regard to Augusta, that “the Princess is nice and clever, but she leaves me cold.” Augusta liked her future husband and hoped for a happy marriage, in the end, it was an inwardly happy marriage despite outward appearances.

On June 11, 1829, Wilhelm married his fiancée in the chapel of Schloss Charlottenburg.

Married life

The first weeks of marriage were harmonious; Augusta was taken favorably in the Prussian King’s court, however, Augusta soon started to be bored with its military sobriety, and most courtly duties (which may have counteracted this boredom) were reserved to her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Elisabeth.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Queen of Prussia and German Empress

In a letter which Wilhelm wrote on January 22, 1831 to his sister Charlotte, he has mixed feelings of his wife’s “lack of femininity”. Prince Friedrich (later Emperor Frederick III of Germany), was born later that year on October 18, 1831, three years after their marriage and Louise, was born on December 3, 1838, seven years later.

On this date in History: June 4, 1941. Death of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

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Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, Frederick William IV of Prussia, Friedrich III of Germany, German Emperor, German Empire, Huis Doorn, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Princess Hermine of Reuss-Greiz, the Netherlands, Victoria Princess Royal, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II, Wilhelm II of Germany, World War I

Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; January 27, 1859 – June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from June 15, 1888 to his abdication November 9, 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe, most notably King George V of the United Kingdom and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.

Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia

Wilhelm was born at the Crown Prince’s Palace, Berlin, to Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm of Prussia (the future Friedrich III) and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

At the time of his birth, his great-uncle Friedrich-Wilhelm IV was king of Prussia, and his grandfather and namesake Wilhelm was acting as Regent. He was the first grandchild of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, but more important, as the first son of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Wilhelm was second in the line of succession to Prussia, from 1861 onwards and also, after 1871, to the newly created German Empire, which, according to the constitution of the German Empire, was ruled by the King of Prussia. At the time of his birth, he was also sixth in the line of succession to the British throne, after his maternal uncles and his mother.

Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia (Father)

Princess Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (Mother)

In 1863, Wilhelm was taken to England to be present at the wedding of his Uncle Bertie (later King Edward VII), and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Wilhelm attended the ceremony in a Highland costume, complete with a small toy dirk. During the ceremony, the four-year-old became restless. His eighteen-year-old uncle, Prince Alfred, charged with keeping an eye on him, told him to be quiet, but Wilhelm drew his dirk and threatened Alfred. When Alfred attempted to subdue him by force, Wilhelm bit him on the leg.

First Marriage

Wilhelm and his first wife, Princess Augusta-Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, were married on February 27, 1881. Princess Augusta-Victoria was the eldest daughter of Friedrich VIII, future Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-niece of Queen Victoria. She grew up at Dolzig until the death of her grandfather, Christian-August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, in 1869. The family then moved to Primkenau to a country estate her father inherited.

Princess Augusta-Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein

Wilhelm and Princess Augusta-Victoria had seven children.

Accession

Wilhelm’ s father, Emperor Wilhelm I, died in Berlin on March 9 1888, and Prince Wilhelm’s father ascended the throne as Emperor Friedrich III. Friedrich was already suffering from an incurable throat cancer and spent all 99 days of his reign fighting the disease before dying, which occurred on June 15, of that same year. His 29-year-old son succeeded him as Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

Wilhelm II took control of foreign and military policy with a bellicose “New Course” to cement Germany’s status as a respected world power. However, he frequently undermined this goal by making tactless, bombastic and alarming public statements without seeking his ministers’ advice.

Additionally, his regime did much to alienate itself from the other Great Powers by initiating a massive naval build-up, and challenging French control of Morocco. His turbulent reign ultimately culminated in Germany’s absolute guarantee of military support to Austria-Hungary during the crisis of July 1914, one of the key developments leading to the outbreak of World War I.

A lax wartime leader, he left virtually all decision-making regarding military strategy and organisation of the war effort to the Great General Staff. This broad delegation of authority gave rise to a de facto military dictatorship whose belligerent foreign policy led to the United States’ entry into the war on 6 April 1917. Thereafter Wilhelm’s roll was regulated to that of a figurehead. After losing the support of the German military and his subjects in November 1918, Wilhelm abdicated and fled to exile in the Netherlands.

Second Marriage

Empress Augusta-Victoria known affectionately as “Dona”, was a constant companion to Wilhelm, and her death on April 11, 1921 was a devastating blow. It also came less than a year after their son Prince Joachim committed suicide.

The following January, Wilhelm received a birthday greeting from a son of the late Prince Johann-George of Schönaich-Carolath. The 63-year-old Wilhelm invited the boy and his mother, Princess Hermine of Reuss-Greiz, to Doorn. Wilhelm found Hermine very attractive, and greatly enjoyed her company. The couple were wed in Doors on November 9, 1922 , despite the objections of Wilhelm’s monarchist supporters and his children. Hermine’s daughter, Princess Henriette, married the late Prince Joachim’s son, Prince Charles-Franz-Josef, in 1940, but divorced in 1946. Hermine remained a constant companion to the ageing former emperor until his death.

Antisemitism

Wilhelm’s biographer Lamar Cecil identified Wilhelm’s “curious but well-developed anti-Semitism”, noting that in 1888 a friend of Wilhelm “declared that the young Emperor’s dislike of his Hebrew subjects, one rooted in a perception that they possessed an overweening influence in Germany, was so strong that it could not be overcome”. Cecil concludes: Wilhelm never changed, and throughout his life he believed that Jews were perversely responsible, largely through their prominence in the Berlin press and in leftist political movements, for encouraging opposition to his rule.

Exile

On November 10, 1918, Wilhelm II crossed the border by train and went into exile in the Netherlands, which had remained neutral throughout the war. Upon the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles in early 1919, Article 227 expressly provided for the prosecution of Wilhelm “for a supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties”, but the Dutch government refused to extradite him, despite appeals from the Allies. King George V wrote that he looked on his cousin as “the greatest criminal in history”, but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s proposal to “hang the Kaiser”.

Wilhelm first settled in Amerongen, where on November 28, he issued a belated official statement of abdication from both the Prussian and imperial thrones, thus formally ending the Hohenzollerns’ 400-year rule over Prussia. Accepting the reality that he had lost both of his crowns for good, he gave up his rights to “the throne of Prussia and to the German Imperial throne connected therewith.” He also released his soldiers and officials in both Prussia and the empire from their oath of loyalty to him.

He purchased a country house in the municipality of Doorn, known as Huis Doorn, and moved in on May 15, 1920. This was to be his home for the remainder of his life. The Weimar Republic allowed Wilhelm to remove twenty-three railway wagons of furniture, twenty-seven containing packages of all sorts, one bearing a car and another a boat, from the New Palace at Potsdam.

Wilhelm died of a pulmonary embolus in Doorn, Netherlands, on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82, just weeks before the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. German soldiers had been guarding his house. Hitler, however, was angered that the former monarch had an honor guard of German troops and nearly fired the general who ordered them when he found out. Despite his personal animosity toward Wilhelm, Hitler wanted to bring his body back to Berlin for a state funeral, as he regarded Wilhelm a symbol of Germany and Germans during World War I. Hitler felt that such a funeral would demonstrate to the Germans the direct descent of the Third Reich from the old German Empire, thereby giving his regime a sense of continuity.

However, Wilhelm’s wished to return to Germany only after the restoration of the monarchy. The Nazi occupational authorities granted him a small military funeral, with a few hundred people present. The mourners included August von Mackensen, fully dressed in his old imperial Life Hussars uniform, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and Reichskommissar for the Netherlands Arthur Seyss-Inquart, along with a few other military advisers. However, Wilhelm’s request that the swastika and other Nazi regalia be not displayed at his funeral was ignored, and they are featured in the photographs of the event taken by a Dutch photographer.

Wilhelm was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds of Huis Doorn, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists. Small but enthusiastic and faithful numbers of them gather there every year on the anniversary of his death to pay their homage to the last German Emperor.

Titles of the German Emperor 1871-1918. Part II.

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Elector of Brandenburg, German Emperor, German Emperor and King of Prussia, German Empire, King in Prussia, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II of Germany

Titles and emblems of the German Emperor after 1873
Overview about the Titles and emblems of the German Emperor after 1873.

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

In the great title of the German Emperors as Kings of Prussia, the history of the Hohenzollerns and the Prussian rulers were reflected. All German emperors after 1873 had the same title “German Emperor and King of Prussia”. The great title of German Emperors after 1873 was the complete list of the individual titles which they ruled as King of Prussia.

Here is the complete list of the title of the German Emperor.

His Imperial and Royal Majesty, by the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia; Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern; Sovereign and Supreme Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz; Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen; Duke of Saxony, of Westphalia, of Angria, of Pomerania, Lüneburg, Holstein and Schleswig, of Magdeburg, of Bremen, of Guelders, Cleves, Jülich and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kassubes, of Crossen, Lauenburg and Mecklenburg; Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia; Prince of Orange; Prince of Rügen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and Pyrmont, of Halberstadt, Münster, Minden, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, of Verden, Cammin, Fulda, Nassau and Moers; Princely Count of Henneberg; Count of Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, Tecklenburg and Lingen, of Mansfeld, Sigmaringen and Veringen; Lord of Frankfurt.

I will not detail the history of every title for the Emperor but I will mention the top and most important.

The German Emperor

The official title German Emperor was for of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the January 1, 1871 constitution and lasted until the official abdication of Wilhelm II on November 28, 1918. The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes also called “German Emperor” when the historical context is clear, as derived from the Holy Roman Empire’s official name of “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” from 1512.

Following the revolution of 1918, the function of head of state was succeeded by the President of the Reich beginning with Friedrich Ebert.

King of Prussia

Under its last master Albrecht in 1525, the State of the Teutonic Order was transformed into the secular Duchy of Prussia under Polish armament. After the death of his successor, the Duke Albrecht-Friedrich in 1618, the Duchy of Prussia became a part of the Brandenburg-Hohenzollern lands, who now ruled it in personal union.

Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg, King Friedrich I in Prussia

In the Treaties of Wehlau in 1637 and Oliva in 1660, the Elector Friedrich-Wilhelm, the “Great Elector”, succeeded in gaining full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia, whereby he himself became a European sovereign. His successor, Friedrich III of Brandenburg was crowned King Friedrich I in Prussia on January 18,1701, after the Emperor had contractually secured him to recognise him as King of the Holy Roman Empire and in Europe.

The name and coat of arms of the Prussian monarch then passed as a result of the new designation of sovereignty and authority könglich-preußisch (royal Prussian) to the entire Prussian state of Hohenzollern, which lay within and outside the empire and for which the name of Prussia prevailed in the eighteenth century.

The restricted in in the King’s title recalled that the West of Prussia, Royal Prussia (Warmia and West Prussia) remained under the Polish crown. This terminological refinement was, however, only observed in the German version. In Latin, he called himself “Nos Fridericu, Dei greatia Rex Borussiae,…”and in the French version “Frederic par la grace de Dieu Roi de Prusse…”.

Friedrich II, King of Prussia.

After the first Polish partition of 1772 under Frederick II, Warmia, the Netzedistrikt and West Prussia fell to Prussia, so that Friedrich II could now be called King of Prussia. This title was passed onto his successors. The last of these successors was Wilhelm II.

Titles of the German Emperor 1871-1918. Part I.

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German Empire (1848–49)

The first attempt at creating a German Empire was in the wake of the revolutions of 1848. King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV of Prussia was offered the title “Emperor of the Germans” (German: Kaiser der Deutschen) by the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849. However, the King declined to accept the title and the office of Emperor with the belief it was “not the Parliament’s to give”. Friedrich-Wilhelm IV believed that only the German princes had the right to make such an offer, in accordance with the traditions of the Holy Roman Empire.

The title German Emperor was carefully chosen by Otto von Bismarck, Minister President of Prussia and Chancellor of the North German Confederation, after discussion which continued up until the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as Emperor at the Palace of Versailles during the Siege of Paris.

Wilhelm accepted this title begrudgingly on January 18, having preferred “Emperor of Germany” (German: Kaiser von Deutschland). However, that title would have signaled a territorial sovereignty over the other German kings and princes which was unacceptable to the South German monarchs, such as Ludwig II of Bavaria, as well as a claim to lands outside his reign (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, etc.). Many south German sovereigns did not desire to be dominated by the Prussian Hohenzollerns.

“Emperor of the Germans”, as had been proposed at the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, was also ruled out by Wilhelm as he considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and chosen “By the Grace of God”, not by the people in a popular monarchy. But more in general, Wilhelm was unhappy about a crown that looked artificial (like he viewed Napoléon’s crown/title), having been created by a constitution. He was also afraid that the position of Emperor would overshadow the Prussian crown.

Therefore a compromise was reached and the title German Emperor became the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. The title was introduced with the January 1st 1871 constitution and lasted until the official abdication of Wilhelm II on November 28, 1918. The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes mistakenly also called “German Emperor” as derived from the Holy Roman Empire’s official name of “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” from 1512.

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

However, the title full titles of the German Emperor did change over the years.

The German Emperors after 1873 had a variety of titles and coats of arms, which in various compositions, became the officially used titles and coats of arms. The title and coat of arms were last fixed in 1873, but the titles did not necessarily mean that the area was really dominated, and sometimes even several princes bore the same title.

This is in tradition when in 1817, new titles were introduced for the King of Prussia, the large title, the mid-length title and the short title, parallel to the large, mid-sized and small coats of arms of Prussia.

General

All nobles carry a nobility title. In the rulers’ titles, all diverse titles which a rule had were united are collected. The title is the public self-representation of the person in their political environment, so names in this title may appear, which merely confirm a claim, but do not correspond to any political reality at the time of their application.

The title emancipated very soon from the function that this expressed, and became a sign of belonging to one sex, so that several persons could lead under the same title at the same time. Thus, the King of Prussia introduced the title “Prince of Pyrmont” from 1868 to Prince Georg Viktor. Therefore, for the owner of the function, the title “ruling prince” was later formed in contrast to the pure title holder. But this too gradually faded, as is the case with the last “ruling Prince of Pyrmont”, who in addition to church matters, had only the right to pardon.

Only in the case of the Emperor, King and Grand Duke, the loss of office also entailed the loss of title. The remaining titles were and are linked to the person in the course of the development so that they did not necessarily fail with the loss of the function.

The Emperor actually had more titles when he was king. In 1864, the king ordered that the number of a little over 50 in the title and in the coat of arms should not be exceeded. The two are therefore a selection, with only the most important ones being mentioned.

May 6, 1882: Birth of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia

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Wilhelm, German Crown Prince (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; May 6, 1882 – July 20, 1951)

Wilhelm was born on May 6, 1882 in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg. He was the eldest son of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor (1859–1941), and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (1858–1921), the eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, future Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-niece of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Crown Prince Wilhelm’s parents: Emperor and Empress Wilhelm II and Augusta-Victoria

At the time of his birth he was third in line to the Imperial and Royal thrones of Germany and Prussia. His great-grandfather, German Emperor Wilhelm I, occupied the throne. His grandfather, Crown Prince Friedrich, was next in line followed by his own father, Wilhelm. Like his father, he was christened Friedrich Wilhelm but went by his second name. Wilhelm was also the great-grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria through his grandmother, Princess Victoria, the Princess Royal, who was his father’s mother.

His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown Princess Victoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his aunt Helena to help. His mother was hurt and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm’s great-grandmother, furious. When his great-grandfather and grandfather both died in 1888, six-year-old Wilhelm became the heir apparent to the German and Prussian thrones.

He was raised in the traditional manner of a Prussian prince; schooled by tutors and on his tenth birthday in 1892 he entered the First Guard Regiment and was given the Order of the Black Eagle by his father. As he grew older Wilhelm enjoyed the life of a Prussian military officer who was devoted to military life.

One of his great loves was an American singer Geraldine Farrar but she was not of the stature for him to be allowed to marry her. As a future Emperor-King, Wilhelm needed to follow the strict protocol of marrying a princess of equal rank to his.

Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

On July 5, 1904, Crown Prince Wilhelm met his future bride, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May 6, 1954) the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich-Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860–1922).

At this time her brother, Friedrich-Franz IV was the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and had recently married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland. Upon their return to Schwerin Crown Prince Wilhelm arrived in the capitol of the Grand Duchy to deliver the couple a wedding present on behalf of his parents. This is where he met the Grand Duke’s 17 year old sister, Princess Cecilie. He immediately fell in love with her and much to the relief of his parents he had found someone of equal rank.

Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married in pomp and splendor on June 6, 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin in the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam. Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940. However, during the early stages of his marriage the crown prince had a brief affair with the American opera singer Geraldine Farrar, and he later had a relationship with the dancer Mata Hari, as well as with actress Ossi Oswalda. Wilhelm and Cecilie had 6 children (4 sons and 2 daughter).

World War I

In 1914 Crown Prince Wilhelm’s life changed forever as the First World War broke out. Despite being in the military for the majority of his life he did not have much leadership experience but was given the command of the Vth Army. He oversaw the Verdun Offensive and was forever known by the French as the ‘Butcher of Verdun.” Crown Prince Wilhelm is on record as not being supportive of the war.

Wilhelm had been active in pushing German expansion, and sought a leading role on the outbreak of war. Despite being only thirty-two and having never commanded a unit larger than a regiment, the German Crown Prince was named commander of the 5th Army in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I.

However, under the well-established Prussian/German General Staff model then in use, inexperienced nobles who were afforded commands of large army formations were always provided with (and expected to defer to the advice of) experienced chiefs of staff to assist them in their duties. As Emperor, Wilhelm’s father instructed the Crown Prince to defer to the advice of his experienced chief of staff Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf.

In October 1914 Wilhelm gave his first interview to a foreign correspondent and the first statement to the press made by a German noble since the outbreak of war. He denied promoting military solutions to diplomatic problems, and said this in English:

Undoubtedly this is the most stupid, senseless and unnecessary war of modern times. It is a war not wanted by Germany, I can assure you, but it was forced on us, and the fact that we were so effectually prepared to defend ourselves is now being used as an argument to convince the world that we desired conflict.
— Crown Prince Wilhelm, Wiegand

From August 1915 onwards, Wilhelm was given the additional role as commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince. In 1916 his troops began the Verdun Offensive, a year long effort to destroy the French armies that would end in failure. Wilhelm relinquished command of the 5th Army in November of that year, but remained commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the rest of the war.

When Germany lost the war the Crown Prince went into exile on the island of Wieringen, in the Netherlands and was not popular in Germany. His father, Wilhelm II, also sought asylum in the Netherlands settling on an estate in Doorn.

1918–34

After the outbreak of the German Revolution in 1918, both Emperor Wilhelm II and the Crown Prince signed the document of abdication. On November 13, the former Crown Prince fled Germany, crossed into the Netherlands at Oudvroenhoven and was later interned on the island of Wieringen (now part of the mainland), near Den Helder.

In the autumn of 1921, Gustav Stresemann visited Wilhelm, and the former Crown Prince voiced an interest in returning to Germany, even as a private citizen. After Stresemann became chancellor in August 1923, Wilhelm was allowed to return after giving assurances that he would not engage in politics. He chose November 9 1923 for this, which infuriated his father, who had not been informed about the plans of his son and who felt the historic date to be inappropriate.

The dapper Crown Prince

However, at one point he did have political aspirations and desired to run for Reichspräsident against Paul von Hindenburg in 1932. This ambition was curtailed when his father threatened to disinherit him if he chose this path. The former Kaiser was never supportive of the democratic process and the thought of a Hohenzollern prince running for an election was an anathema to him. From 1919 until 1934 a great aspirtation for the former Crown prince was a restoration of the monarchy.

In June 1926, a referendum on expropriating the former ruling Princes of Germany without compensation failed and as a consequence, the financial situation of the Hohenzollern family improved considerably. A settlement between the state and the family made Cecilienhof property of the state but granted a right of residence to Wilhelm and Cecilie. This was limited in duration to three generations. The family also kept the ownership of Monbijou Palace in Berlin, Oels Castle in Silesia, and Rheinsberg Palace until 1945.

1934–51

The Crown Prince supported the rise of Hitler for a short time as did many German princes as Hitler used the promise of a restoration of the monarchy as a means to court their support. With the death of his friend, the former Chancellor, Kurt von Schleicher, in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 enabled him to see Hitlers true colors. When Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled. From that period on Crown Prince Wilhelm ceased his political activities and his pursuit for the Restoration of the monarchy. In the 1930s Wilhelm lived the life of a playboy enjoying fast cars and fast women, his relationship with his wife had long been over in everything but name.

On June 4, 1941 his father died at the age of 82, Wilhelm succeeded him as head of the House of Hohenzollern, the former German imperial dynasty. If the monarchy had survived he would have become German Emperor and King of Prussia as Wilhelm III. He was approached by those in the military and the diplomatic service who wanted to replace Hitler, but Wilhelm turned them down. After the ill-fated assassination attempt on July 20, 1944, Hitler nevertheless had Wilhelm placed under supervision by the Gestapo and had his home at Cecilienhof watched.

Three Generations, The Crown Prince Wilhelm, The Emperor and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia

During the war he kept a low profile. His eldest son, Prince Wilhelm, died in battle during the war. In January 1945, Wilhelm left Potsdam for Oberstdorf for a treatment of his gall bladder and liver problems. His wife Cecilie fled in early February 1945 as the Red Army drew closer to Berlin, but they had been living apart for a long time. At the end of the war, Wilhelm’s home, Cecilienhof, was seized by the Soviets. The palace was subsequently used by the Allied Powers as the venue for the Potsdam Conference.

At the end of the war, Wilhelm was captured by French Moroccan troops in Baad, Austria and was interned as a (World War I) war criminal. Transferred to Hechingen, Germany, he lived for a short time in Hohenzollern Castle under house arrest.

The Crown Prince on his deathbed

He lived alone in a small five-room house at Fürstenstraße 16 in Hechingen and fell into a depression. The world he grew up in was gone. Prussia, the sate that brought the Hohenzollerns to prominence, was formally dissolved on February 25, 1947 the Allied Control Council. From the end of the war to the end of his life Wilhelm lived as a private citizen with a small group of friends. On July 20, 1951 the chain smoking former heir to the glorious German Empire suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 69. He was succeeded by his second son, Prince Louis-Ferdinand, as head of the Imperial house and claimer to the vacant thrones of Germany and Prussia.

May 1, 1850: Birth of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.

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Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; May 1, 1850 – January 16, 1942) was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He served as the Governor General of Canada, the tenth since Canadian Confederation and the only British prince to do so. In 1910 he was appointed Grand Prior of the Order of St John and held this position until 1939.

Queen Victoria with Prince Arthur

On his mother’s birthday (May, 24) in 1874, Arthur was created a royal peer, being titled as the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex. Some years later, Arthur came into the direct line of succession to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the German Empire upon the death in 1899 of his nephew, Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, the only son of his elder brother, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. He decided, however, to renounce his own and his son’s succession rights to the duchy, which then passed to his other nephew, Prince Charles Edward, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.

At St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, on March 13, 1879, Arthur married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, the daughter of Prince Friedrich-Carl of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia was a great-niece of the German Emperor, Arthur’s godfather, Wilhelm I.

The couple had three children: Princess Margaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah (born January 15, 1882), Prince Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert (born January 13, 1883), and Princess Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth (born March 17, 1886), who were all raised at the Connaughts’ country home, Bagshot Park, in Surrey, and after 1900 at Clarence House, the Connaughts’ London residence. Through his children’s marriages, Arthur became the father-in-law of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden; Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife; and Sir Alexander Ramsay. Arthur’s first two children predeceased him; Margaret while pregnant with his sixth grandchild. For many years, Arthur maintained a liaison with Leonie, Lady Leslie, sister of Jennie Churchill, while still remaining devoted to his wife.

Arthur was educated by private tutors before entering the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich at the age of 16. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Army, where he served for some 40 years, seeing service in various parts of the British Empire. During this time he was also created a royal duke, becoming the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, as well as the Earl of Sussex.

It was announced on March 6, 1911 that King George V had, by commission under the royal sign-manual, approved the recommendation of his British prime minister, H.H. Asquith, to appoint Arthur as his representative.His brother-in-law, the Duke of Argyll, had previously served as the country’s governor general, but when Arthur was sworn in on October 13, 1911 in the salon rouge of the parliament buildings of Quebec, he became the first Governor General of Canada who was a member of the British royal family.

Duke of Connaught later in life with his granddaughter Princess Ingrid of Sweden and her husband, future King Frederick IX of Denmark (parents of current Queen Margarethe II of Denmark).

After the end of his viceregal tenure in 1916, Arthur returned to the United Kingdom and there, as well as in India, performed various royal duties, while also again taking up military duties. Though he retired from public life in 1928, he continued to make his presence known in the army well into the Second World War, before his death in 1942. He was Queen Victoria’s last surviving son.

His eldest daughter, Princess Margaret of Connaught, died on May 1, 1920 her father’s 70th birthday.

March 9, 1888: Death of German Emperor Wilhelm I, King of Prussia. Part III.

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Part III

In his memoirs, Bismarck describes Wilhelm as an old-fashioned, courteous, infallibly polite gentleman and a genuine Prussian officer, whose good common sense was occasionally undermined by “female influences”. This was a reference to Wilhelm’s wife, who had been educated by, among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and was intellectually superior to her husband. She was also at times very outspoken in her opposition to official policies as she was a liberal.

Wilhelm, however, had long been strongly opposed to liberal ideas. Despite possessing considerable power as Emperor, granted to him by the new constitution, Wilhelm left the task of governing mostly to his chancellor, limiting himself to representing the state and approving Bismarck’s every policy.

On May 11, 1878, a plumber named Emil Max Hödel failed in an assassination attempt on Wilhelm in Berlin. Hödel used a revolver to shoot at the then 81-year-old Emperor, while he and his daughter, Princess Louise, paraded in their carriage on Unter den Linden. When the bullet missed, Hödel ran across the street and fired another round which also missed. In the commotion one of the individuals who tried to apprehend Hödel suffered severe internal injuries and died two days later. Hödel was seized immediately. He was tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and executed on August 16, 1878.

A second attempt to assassinate Wilhelm was made on June 2, 1878 by Dr. Karl Nobiling. As the Emperor drove past in an open carriage, the assassin fired two shots from a shotgun at him from the window of a house off the Unter den Linden. Wilhelm was severely wounded and was rushed back to the palace. Nobiling shot himself in an attempt to commit suicide. While Wilhelm survived this attack, the assassin died from his self-inflicted wound three months later

Augusta, German Empress and Queen of Prussia

These attempts on Wilhelm’s life thus became the pretext for the institution of the Anti-Socialist Law, which was introduced by Bismarck’s government with the support of a majority in the Reichstag on October 18, 1878, for the purpose of fighting the socialist and working-class movement.

These laws deprived the Social Democratic Party of Germany of its legal status; prohibited all organizations, workers’ mass organizations and the socialist and workers’ press; decreed confiscation of socialist literature; and subjected Social-Democrats to reprisals. The laws were extended every 2–3 years. Despite the reprisals the Social Democratic Party increased its influence among the masses. Under pressure of the mass working-class movement the laws were repealed on October 1, 1890.

9th March 1888: Wilhelm I (1797 – 1888), king of Prussia and first German Emperor lying in state. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In August 1878, Russian Emperor Alexander II, Wilhelm’s nephew, wrote a letter (known as Ohrfeigenbrief) to him complaining about the treatment Russian interests had received at the Congress of Berlin. In response Wilhelm, his wife Augusta, and his son the Crown Prince Friedrich travelled to Russia (against the advice of Bismarck) to mend fences in face-to-face talks. However, by once again threatening to resign, Bismarck overcame the opposition of Wilhelm to a closer alliance with Austria. In October, Wilhelm agreed to the Dual Alliance (Zweibund) between Germany and Austria-Hungary, which was directed against Russia.

Despite the assassination attempts and Wilhelm’s unpopular role in the 1848 uprising, he and his wife were very popular, especially in their later years. Many people considered them the personification of “the old Prussia” and liked their austere and simple lifestyle. Wilhelm died on March 9, 1888 in Berlin after a short illness. He was aged 90 and he died 13 days before his 91st birthday. He was buried on March 16, at the Mausoleum at Park Charlottenburg.

The Year of the Three Emperors

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

1888 is called the Year of the Three Emperors, during the German Empire in German history. The year is considered to have memorable significance because of the deaths of two German Emperors, leading to a rapid succession of three monarchs within one year.

As we’ve seen, Emperor Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888 after his long reign. He was then succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who became known as German Emperor Friedrich III when he assumed the throne. Along with his military successes, Friedrich III was a reputed liberal and married to the United Kingdom’s liberal Princess Royal Victoria, eldest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia

However, by the time of his father’s death, Friedrich was 56 years old and had already developed a terminal case of cancer of the larynx before he assumed the German imperial throne. Friedrich attempted to have it treated, but it was not successful. Due to this illness and subsequent treatment, as Emperor, Friedrich III could not talk during his short reign and had to communicate through writing. Friedrich III still accomplished some of his duties as emperor despite his protracted illness; however, he did not have any lasting effect upon Germany and was unable to enact any of his liberal policies. He died after only 99 days of rule on June 15, 1888.

Wilhelm II,

Friedrich III’s son, Wilhelm II, then succeeded to the throne at age 29. Unlike his father, Wilhelm II did not have any liberal tendencies. Upon consolidating power as emperor, Wilhelm launched Germany on a bellicose “New Course” to cement its status as a respected world power. However, he frequently undermined this aim by making tactless, alarming public statements without consulting his ministers.

He also did much to alienate his country from the other Great Powers by initiating a massive build-up of the German Navy, challenging French control over Morocco, and backing the Austrian annexation of Bosnia in 1908. His turbulent reign ultimately culminated in his guarantee of military support to Austria-Hungary during the crisis of July 1914, resulting in the outbreak of World War I. Wilhelm II became a figurehead during World War I and Germany was ruled by military generals. In 1918 Wilhelm II was pressured into abdicating resulting in the fall of the German Empire at the end of war.