While many people are aware of notable Germans like Anne Frank, Adolf Hitler, and Klaus Barbie, a very little spotlight has been shone on Kaiser Wilhelm outside the WWI, and in this article, we’ll share a few facts about Wilhelm.
Kaiser Wilhelm was born to Friedrich Wilhelm (who would later become Emperor Frederick III) and Princess Victoria (the future Empress Frederick), the eldest daughter of England’s Queen Victoria.
Wilhelm was born with a withered arm. Sometimes historians believe that his insecurity over this handicap fueled his later erratic behaviour.
Ninety-nine days after his father, Frederick III, was named emperor, Wilhelm II succeeded his father, becoming Kaiser of Germany at the tender age of 29.
Wilhelm II was the last King of Prussia and the last German Emperor (Kaiser) when he abdicated the throne toward the end of World War I in 1918. He was only the third and longest-serving emperor – his father had only ruled for a mere ninety-nine days before he died.
All of the European royal families were connected by marriage at the time. His uncle was Edward VII, King of England, and he was the first cousin of Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia.
Despite his British connections and relationships, Wilhelm was anti-British in his geopolitical positions. He saw the British as an obstacle to German imperialism. He supported The Boers against British rule in South Africa by supporting rebellions through the German colony of Southwest Africa.
Wilhelm annoyed the French when he visited the French colony of Morocco in 1905 and proclaimed that the country should be independent.
Wilhelm was shocked by the Nazis’ tactics. In 1938, Wilhelm remarked that for the first time, he was ashamed to be a German. Wilhelm and Adolf Hitler despised each other as Hitler blamed Wilhelm for Germany’s defeat in the war.
Wilhelm was a member of the House of Hohenzollern, which was an ancient noble lineage. This European family stretches back to the first century AD and includes royal titles across central and eastern Europe. The family line included the Kingship of Prussia, which that family held for more than two centuries beginning in the 18th century.
