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Kaiser Wilhelm II cannot be considered without thinking of his family. He was, thanks to his mother, the Princess Royal Victoria, half British and always enjoyed visiting Britain and could speak English fluently. During the many occasions of Anglo-German tension, Wilhelm II was often ridiculed by his German subjects for being too "British" while at the same time the British press mocked him for being too much of the rough, rigid Prussian. His idolized his grandmother Queen Victoria, who was the only person who ever seemed able to "control" him in any way. On February 27, 1881 he married Duchess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein and the couple eventually had seven children: Crown Prince Wilhelm, Prince Eitel Friedrich, Prince Adalbert, Prince Augustus Wilhelm, Prince Oskar, Prince Joachim and Princess Viktoria Luise. |
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Kronprinz Wilhelm III: The Kaiser's first child, born in 1882, Willy was often at odds with his father and associated with the militarists Prussian Junkers and the Pan-German movement. He commanded the 5th Army in WW1 and was dismissed by the Allies as an ignorant playboy but in truth he was an effective commander and had a better than average understanding of military operations. After the war he considered running for president and was courted by the Nazis. He refused to join them and was kept under house arrest during WW2. He died in 1951.
Prince Eitel Friedrich: Born in 1883 he commanded the First Prussian Foot Guards in World War I and saw front-line service on the western and eastern fronts. He died in 1942
Prince Adalbert: Born in 1884, served with the Imperial German Navy in World War I (which was commanded by his uncle Prince Heinrich) he died in Switzerland in 1948.
Prince August Wilhelm: Born in 1887, Auwi as he was called was a colonel in WW1. In 1929 he joined the Nazi Party, the only one to do so. He became a general in the S.A. and died in 1949.
Prince Oskar: Born in 1888 he died in 1958.
Prince Joachim: Born in 1890, Joachim was the Kaiser's youngest son. During the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin some of the rebel leaders considered making Joachim King of Ireland. He married that same year but later divorced. Overcome by all of the sorrows he had to endure since the end of WW1 and the failure of his marriage, he committed suicide in 1920.
Princess Viktoria Luise: The Kaiser's youngest child and oldest daughter, Viktoria Luise was her father's favorite. She married in 1913 and in her later life wrote a number of books on her parents, the crown princess and her own life. She died in 1980 |
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