Kaiser wilhellm

• • He became king at 29 after his father (Fredrick III) died.
• • He was the cousin of King George V (the king of England at that time)
• • He was related to Tsar Nicholos II (the king of Russia at that time)
• • He was obsessed with the military and was always seen in uniform taking his photo.
• • He had a disability in his arm which lowered his confidence, so he always kept this hidden.
• Facts

  1.     Born on 27 January 1859 in Berlin
• 2.     Eldest child of Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

  ·       He regularly visited England and had strong relationship with Queen Victoria, being at her bedside when she died in 1901
• 3.     Did military service
• 4.     1881 married Augusta Victoria, Princess of Schleswig-Holstein, and they had seven children.
• 5.     Wilhelm became Kaiser in 1888 at the age of 29
• 6.     Von Bülow One of his loyal supporters who served his government described him as a man of “vitality…quick…sure…understanding”
• 1.     Arrogance

  a)    Edward VII (Willhelm II’s uncle) called him, “The most brilliant failure…superficial, a neurotic braggart…a militaristic poseur.”

  b)    He was also considered arrogant by other royal families to which he was related - Greece, Russia, Norway and Spain

  c)     Craig (1978) said he had an “overdeveloped sense of theatre” and suffered from a “fundamental misreading” of situations
• 1.     Was not prepared to study anything carefully

  a)    Von Kidelen-Wächter, a diplomat, said in 1891, “He just talks himself into an opinion”

  b)    Wilhelm boasted he never read newspapers or the constitution

  c)     He never stayed anywhere long and was nicknamed “The Travelling Emperor”
• 1.     Saw enemies everywhere

  a)    Despite becoming the most secure and prosperous state in Europe, he believed Germany was threatened by both the West and the East

   
• Wilhelm


  • Partly paralysed on his left side
  • With a withered arm, which he always tried to conceal
  • Possible brain damage which affected his hearing and ability to concentrate
• Difficult birth


  He came out legs first, which damaged his confidence
• Lack of loving family

  • He struggled with his English mother, Victoria, eldest child of Queen Victoria
  • His father, Friedrich III, called him, "Immature and presumptuous"
• Some say he was a repressed homosexual
• His disability concerned him as commander-in-chief of the army
• Pinson (1954): 'Called him "sensitive, insecure, timid and nervous"'