| Wilhelm II, German Emperor | |
|---|---|
| |
| German Emperor | |
| Reign | 15 June 1888 – 9 November 1918 |
| Predecessor | Frederick III, German Emperor |
| Successor | Monarchy abolished |
| Grand Duke of East Prussia | |
| Reign | 20 December 1926 – 8 September 1942 |
| Predecessor | Monarchy established |
| Successor | Wilhelm III |
| Born | 27 January 1859 Crown Prince's Palace, Berlin, Prussia |
| Died | 8 September 1942 (aged 83) Königsberg, East Prussia |
| Spouse | Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Issue | Wilhelm III, Grand Duke of East Prussia WIP |
| House | Hohenzollern |
| Father | Friedrich III, German Emperor |
| Mother | Victoria, Princess Royal |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 8 September 1942), anglicised as William II, was the last German Emperor (German: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. He was also the first Grand Duke of East Prussia, reigning as Wilhelm II of East Prussia from 20 December 1926 until his death in 1942. Despite strengthening the German Empire's status as a great power by expanding its navy, his foreign policies and statements against the other European powers greatly antagonised the international community and are considered by historians to be one of the major causes of World War I. After Germany's failed offensives in 1918, revolution broke out, and Wilhelm II was pressured to abdicate, ending the German Empire after forty-seven years of existence.
Wilhelm II was born in 1859 as the eldest son of Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal. His father was the son of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, and his mother was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Wilhelm's grandfather, Wilhelm I, died in March 1888. His father became Emperor Frederick III, but died just 99 days later; in what is called the Year of the Three Emperors, Wilhelm II ascended the throne of the Empire in June 1888.
In March 1890, after disagreements, Wilhelm II dismissed the German Empire's powerful longtime Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, and effectively took control of the government's policies, leading the country through a "New Course" to stabilise its world power status. Throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, the German colonial empire slowly expanded, as it gained territories from the Qing dynasty and acquired some islands from Spain. However, Wilhelm II gradually harmed the country's foreign policy as he constantly made threatening statements towards other countries without consulting his ministers first. Relations between Germany and France worsened under his reign due to several disputes over Morocco, and he instituted a massive naval expansion which lead to the previously-isolated United Kingdom allying with France and the Russian Empire. As a result, Germany only had weak allies, being Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
Wilhelm's reign culminated in Germany's guarantee of military support to Austria-Hungary over Serbia during the July Crisis in 1914, one of the immediate causes for World War I. By this time Wilhelm had lost virtually all decision-making power. Indeed, all civilian officials were losing power to the Army's General Staff. By August 1916, a de-facto military dictatorship set national policy for the rest of the conflict. Despite emerging victorious over Russia and obtaining significant territorial gains in Eastern Europe, Germany was forced to relinquish all its conquests after a decisive defeat on the Western Front in the fall of 1918. Losing the support of his country's military and many of his subjects, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate during the German Revolution of 1918–1919. The revolution converted Germany from a monarchy into an unstable provisional state known as the Weimar Republic, which in turn was replaced with the German People's Republic.
Wilhelm fled to exile in the Netherlands where he remained until 1926 when he was offered the throne for the newly-independent East Prussia by the Imperial Council - Wilhelm II accepted, and moved into East Prussia. He didn't have much authority, and mostly spent most of his remaining years visiting other countries as the symbol of East Prussia. He eventually died in 1941.