Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) and Family

[GlitteringTiaras]

Here is an amazing photo of the Kaiser and his Uncle, Edward VII, in Berlin. To see more historical images of the Kaiser as well as others please click here. Enjoy.
*images and postcards courtesy of Mrs. Fujita via Flickr.

[Russophile]

Cool! It looks like Ducky was in there. The Cecile mentioned, was it Cecile Battenberg? Who is the woman at the first? Unser kronprinzen?

[Rebafan81]

I am new to this thread and some of those pictures, how wonderful they were to view. Thanks for Posting! I can see from Viktoria Luise(?) pictures, where Princess Alexandra from Hanover gets a lot of her looks. I always wondered where she got her looks from because she is such a mix, but I really think she resembles her great grandmother.

[GlitteringTiaras]

You're most welcome, Rebafan. I love to view these old postcard images as well especially of Kaiser Wilhelm II. For instance this image is pretty powerful... I love it.

[fearghas]

I find the relationship between Edward VII and the kaiser fascinating. They were very similar personalities in some respects but Edward was the more mature and grounded of the two. They were also both sticklers for correct dress.

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Auguste-Viktoria of Prussia:

[lucien]

HRH Prince George Friedrich opened an exhibition on his great-great grandfather;"The Emperor and Europe" at Huis Doorn,
the dutch residence of the exiled Monarch.

Huis Doorn

PPE Agency

Courtesy PPE/Nieboer/

[peterhof]

Hello,

I have just finished my new book, Our Century. It claims, among other things, that in 1914 Germany was the victim of a deliberate attack by the nations of the Entente - primarily France.

I agree with the views of Kaiser Wilhelm II as to the cause of the Great War, so I'm wondering:

Are there any members of the Hohenzollern family interested in setting the historical record straight?

Currently there is a debate raging on the History Channel (The History Channel - Home Page) about the cause of the Great War. Goto Community/forums/wars/world war1. My posts appear under the username: Peterhof

Peter

[Cantata]

Hello, I am new here and have been enjoying seeing all the beautiful pictures and interesting posts.
In spite of Willy's character, I cannot help but like him. I believe that Queen Victoria was very fond of him, even though she knew he was bombastic and arrogant (didn't she correct him for writing to her and signing his letters with a title ). I think she was particularly fond of him because Prince Albert had been so proud of him.
In spite of his cruelty to his mother, whom, I think, he blamed for the difficulty with his arm, I think he spent his life desperately seeking approval - his mother's approval - and that often led him to behave in such an arrogant manner.

[Royal Fan]

He was such an interesting man I Find his life most fasinating do you think he was the way he was because of His Position or the possible defects at birth??

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by Royal Fan

He was such an interesting man I Find his life most fasinating do you think he was the way he was because of His Position or the possible defects at birth??

D: All of the above.

[Cantata]

I believe that the disability of his arm gave him a horror of appearing weak. Also, throughout his childhood he endured so much humiliation and pain because of his arm (being unable to use a knife and fork, being forced again and again to mount his horse when he kept falling off because of his lack of balance, those horrendous machines he was place in to stretch his arm) so I think he hid all that shame behind the bluster of being 'strong'.

[Russophile]

Good theory.

[CarolinaLandgrave]

The Kaiser is a very interesting person - I learned a great deal about his character (some quite a surprise, may I say) from Catrine Clay's book King, Kaiser, Tsar: Three Royal Cousins Who Led the World War.
He had a very difficult childhood and a very unusual adult life.
In my opinion I have to agree Cantata - and I also think he is still a very much misunderstood figure by most people.

[Harold]

I note from another thread that there were attempts to kidnap Wilhelm after he fled to the Netherlands. I would think that security was a major issue for him. Was it provided by the Dutch or arranged/paid for by the German government?

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Rare archival footage of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the celebration of the marriage of his only daughter, Princess Victoria Louise to Prince Ernst August of Hanover, in Berlin.

YouTube - KAISER WILHELM II. 1913 - in Farbe!

* Background music, Preussens Gloria c1870, is easy to recognize *

[principessa]

Welt.de had created a quiz about the last Emperor of Germany. I had done it and it was very interesting.

It concludes 20 questions.

Das Kaiser-Wilhelm-Quiz- Kultur - WELT ONLINE

[claypoint2]

Originally Posted by Russophile

Cool! It looks like Ducky was in there. The Cecile mentioned, was it Cecile Battenberg? Who is the woman at the first? Unser kronprinzen?

No, she was not a Battenberg. She was born Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Grand Duke Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia. She married Crown Prince William of Prussia (eldest son of Kaiser William II and Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein) and thus became Crown Princess of Prussia until the end of World War I in 1918.

Also... I may have missed it, but I didn't see any photo of "Ducky," otherwise known as Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She is the one who shocked the royal world by divorcing her first husband (and first cousin) Prince Ernst Louis of Hesse and then marrying (another first cousin) Grand Duke Kyril of Russia.

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by claypoint2

Also... I may have missed it, but I didn't see any photo of "Ducky," otherwise known as Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She is the one who shocked the royal world by divorcing her first husband (and first cousin) Prince Ernst Louis of Hesse and then marrying (another first cousin) Grand Duke Kyril of Russia.

Shock ran rampant in that family. . .

[claypoint2]

Originally Posted by Russophile

Shock ran rampant in that family. . .

I suppose that they had a lot of free time on their hands and had to amuse themselves in one way or another!