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| HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN |
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| Prince Fritz (Later King Fredrich III) German Kaiser for 99 days. |
It was as in the year 1858 when the two Royals were wed. It took place in England, but then the newly weds went back to Prince Fritz homeland of Prussia and a palace in Berlin. The two young Royals were most devoted to each other and Victoria Princess Royal thought her Prussian husband was much like her father, Prince Albert – the man who had married her mother Queen Victoria. In many ways, the couple were similar, but their environment was very different.
Britain was an island nation that looked to her vast overseas Empire. Her European borders were well defined by the sea and could not be disputed over by mainland European nations and Britain stayed out of Europe apart from Mediterranean islands and the rock of Gibraltar. Prince Albert found it easy to adapt to the politics of this nation without bringing too much Prussian influence of interfering.
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| Victoria Princess Royal of Prussia |
These same notions were taken back to Prussia by the young British Princess Royal and the young Prussian Prince also seemed to agree with many of them. There appeared to be no appreciation of the Germanic state’s borders and land competitors. Prussia and the German states needed to be strong in this time and the sort of liberalism that Prince Fritz and his young wife Victoria Princess Royal had, did not fit so snugly in a nation surrounded by the Royal House of Habsburg’s Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Royal House of Ramanov’s Russia.
All of these great European houses needed to be strong to protect their borders. Alliances were made in order to go to war with lesser nations. This was to make sure no one would strike while attentions were in other areas.
Prussia had a collection of other German speaking states that were allied and there were ambitions of making a unified Germany from all of these states. There had been an attempt in the late 1840s when King Fredrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was alive. The title of Emperor of Prussia and all the joining principalities was offered to the King of Prussia but he declined the offer fearing that it would cause resentment among some of the Crown Princes of the smaller German States and they might then ally with the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Tzar’s Russias.
The young British Princess Royal had come to Prussia, perhaps a little naive to the complexities of the power struggles during this time. She must have known of them and her husband Prince Fritz would certainly have, but they still seemed to think their liberal views would be more progressive for Prussia and the smaller German principalities. I can’t help thinking that despite such admirable intentions; they were wrong. But then I’m just a layman and historians who study such things more deeply, might be very different with their opinions.
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| Wilhelm I Emperor of German Empire until death in 1888 |
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| Otto von Bismarck Ministerprasident Prussia 1862-1873 German Empire 1871 - 1890 |
The Prince and Princess Royal had a son and heir who they named Wilhelm after Prince Fritz father, King Wilhelm I. This young man would grow up to become the Kaiser of the unified Germany and the leader of the nation during the First World War. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom would die in his arms in 1901 on the Isle of Wight’s, Osborne House.
However, this was the year of 1859 and the young Prussian prince was a sickly child with a dislocated arm in birth. This would give him trouble through out his life, but the young Wilhelm would grow up a fiercely patriotic German. He would enjoy the company of his Grandfather King Wilhelm I and the Chancellor Bismarck. He would lean towards the German Conservatism of his Grandfather and Bismarck while trying to please his Father and Mother, but this he would find frustrating and difficult. He was impatient at times and longed to do glorious things, like all young men. To be fair, Prince Wilhelm never lacked encouragement. The Germany of this time was steeped in military tradition and the young man loved this.
As for Bismarck, he would preside over a unified Germany and during his twenty eight years of power as the Iron Chancellor, he would take Prussia and the German states to war with Denmark, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and France. These campaigns, he would win and the unified Germany would grew strong and formidable.
Despite Prince Fritz participation in the campaign with France of 1870 and agreement with Bismarck in strategy over the conduct of the war – mainly when it was time to ease off of the siege of Paris; the Crown Prince still found himself isolated from major decision making in government. His wife, Princess Victoria became more resentful of Bismarck and developed a stronger dislike of him.
Bismarck, however, had developed a thick skin to the Princess Royal and her resentment. He had much more pressing matters of government to deal with. He had no time for what he termed, petticoat politics. He lived in the real world and trod on many imposers’ toes to get what he believed was best for the German coalition. He also had the admiration of the old king and the young Wilhelm. He also made treaties with the Tsar of Russia strengthening the unified German position in Europe – the nation was becoming a power house.
In 1888, Prince Fritz became ill. He had a tumour in his throat and it caused great discomfort and hindered his speech. He had several specialized doctors see him and attempts were made to stop the growth. It soon became clear it was throat cancer and Prince Fritz became bed ridden. His father, old King Wilhelm I died at the age of 91 in this year of 1888 too. The new King Fredrick III (Prince Fritz) was too ill to attend the funeral and he would be Emperor for just 99 days before he passed away due to throat cancer. The Princess Royal was devastated by her husband's death - much like her mother, Queen Victoria when Prince Albert passed away.
Thus was Germany’s year of three Emperors; King Wilhelm I, King Fredrick III and finally King Wilhelm II. The one monarch that Bismarck thought it would be difficult to serve only lasted a short time. The new young King Wilhelm was 29 had been carefully watched as a boy. He was conservative with his views and Bismarck must have felt sure he would get along well with the new Emperor. He was to be sadly mistaken.
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| Kaiser Wilhelm II from 1888 to 1918 |
The young King swiftly brought his guard into his mother’s palace. Victoria, the Princess Royal tried to protest but he wanted his father’s letters and other secret papers. These he could not find because his mother, Princess Victoria was said to have forwarded them on to the United Kingdom. She feared that things contained in some of the writings might be used for ill concerning Britain and Germany.
She was put into isolation and kept out of public life as the young German Emperor began to go about building Germany greater. He had ideas for a stronger navy like Great Britain and wanted an overseas Empire too. He came into conflict with the very man he had admired as a boy and sacked Bismarck for not bringing policies to him before taking them to government.
It would be a sad irony for the old Chancellor - for many years Bismarck and Princess Victoria had tried to win young Wilhelm to their views, but the young man had his own ideas and would not be turned by either in the end. Both were put into the wilderness. Bismarck died in 1898 – eight years after being sacked as Chancellor. Princess Victoria died from cancer of the spine, seven months after her mother in the year of 1901 at Friedrichshof, Germany.
Before the young King Wilhelm II, an ominous road leading to a great European war lay, and with this, the fall of the Eagles - the Eagles of three great European Houses - one of them; House Hohenzollern of Germany's Kaiser.
In 1918, the Great War would end in defeat for Germany. Wilhelm II would go into exile in the Netherlands where he would die in 1941 - leaving his beloved Germany to a more grim reckoning under the National Socialists of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. He had entered Germany into the Great War to aid the old Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef, who in 1914 had reluctantly put his troops into the Balkan nation called Serbia. The Serbs resented Austro-Hungarian rule and their nation had been annexed in 1908.
The nephew and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, went on a state visit to Sarajevo - another city in the Balkans where the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled. Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated and Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire, had been a dear friend of Archduke Ferdinand. He was furious at the news and urged the old Emperor Franz Josef to teach the Serbs a harsh lesson. The Serbs, as expected, called upon the Tsar of Russia to help them.
The Russians had been badly humiliated in a war with Japan in 1905. They had lost much of their navy and were ill equipped to fight a war. The Tsar's nation was screaming out for change and Tsar's cousin in Germany did not fear the Russian forces of Nicholas II.
Kaiser Wilhelm was full of confidence when he had his German forces mobilised. His land army was very well trained and he had competent Generals. These he brought to the aid of the Austo-Hungarian Empire and its confrontation with Russia. Wilhelm declared a state of war with his cousin the Tsar. He sent troops into Belgium to face France, knowing they would ally with Imperial Russia and then his cousin King George V of the United Kingdom declared war upon his German Empire.
It is thought that he might have expected Great Britain to voice disapproval of his decision, but he did not expect them to enter the war. He also may have misjudged the combined ability of the French and British land armies and over estimated his German navy's ability confronting the Royal Navy.
Europe went into a huge political family war that would affect people through out the world. Europe would be turned upside down by the time it emerged from the dreadful conflict. The German Royal family along with the Austro-Hungarian and Russian aristocrats would vanish as political powers. For four years there would be stale mate trench warfare that would cost the lives of millions of soldiers from many nations across the world.
Kaiser Wilhelm II would loose everything when he went into exile in Holland, but his dear cousin the Tsar Nicholas II, who's nation he fought, along the Eastern European front would face a much more dreadful reckoning. Europe would be waking up to a new harsher reality with even more horrendous clouds on the horizon. New freedoms were coming for the masses - new arrogant leaders that would sort the mess out - one way or another.
In 1918, the Great War would end in defeat for Germany. Wilhelm II would go into exile in the Netherlands where he would die in 1941 - leaving his beloved Germany to a more grim reckoning under the National Socialists of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. He had entered Germany into the Great War to aid the old Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef, who in 1914 had reluctantly put his troops into the Balkan nation called Serbia. The Serbs resented Austro-Hungarian rule and their nation had been annexed in 1908.
The nephew and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, went on a state visit to Sarajevo - another city in the Balkans where the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled. Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated and Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire, had been a dear friend of Archduke Ferdinand. He was furious at the news and urged the old Emperor Franz Josef to teach the Serbs a harsh lesson. The Serbs, as expected, called upon the Tsar of Russia to help them.
The Russians had been badly humiliated in a war with Japan in 1905. They had lost much of their navy and were ill equipped to fight a war. The Tsar's nation was screaming out for change and Tsar's cousin in Germany did not fear the Russian forces of Nicholas II.
Kaiser Wilhelm was full of confidence when he had his German forces mobilised. His land army was very well trained and he had competent Generals. These he brought to the aid of the Austo-Hungarian Empire and its confrontation with Russia. Wilhelm declared a state of war with his cousin the Tsar. He sent troops into Belgium to face France, knowing they would ally with Imperial Russia and then his cousin King George V of the United Kingdom declared war upon his German Empire.
It is thought that he might have expected Great Britain to voice disapproval of his decision, but he did not expect them to enter the war. He also may have misjudged the combined ability of the French and British land armies and over estimated his German navy's ability confronting the Royal Navy.
Europe went into a huge political family war that would affect people through out the world. Europe would be turned upside down by the time it emerged from the dreadful conflict. The German Royal family along with the Austro-Hungarian and Russian aristocrats would vanish as political powers. For four years there would be stale mate trench warfare that would cost the lives of millions of soldiers from many nations across the world.
Kaiser Wilhelm II would loose everything when he went into exile in Holland, but his dear cousin the Tsar Nicholas II, who's nation he fought, along the Eastern European front would face a much more dreadful reckoning. Europe would be waking up to a new harsher reality with even more horrendous clouds on the horizon. New freedoms were coming for the masses - new arrogant leaders that would sort the mess out - one way or another.
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