Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor from 1888 until his abdication in 1918. His fall from power marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's 400-year rule over Prussia.

Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal. Through his mother, he was the eldest of the 42 grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. In March 1888, Wilhelm's father, Frederick William, ascended the German and Prussian thrones as Frederick III. Frederick died just 99 days later, and his son succeeded him as Kaiser Wilhelm II.

In March 1890, the young Kaiser dismissed longtime Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and assumed direct control over his nation's policies, embarking on a "New Course" to cement Germany's status as a leading world power. Over the course of his reign, Germany acquired new territories in China and the Pacific and became Europe's largest manufacturer. However, Wilhelm often undermined such progress by making tactless and threatening statements towards other countries without first consulting his ministers. Likewise, he and his government did much to alienate the German Empire from most of Europe by initiating a massive naval build-up, contesting French control of Morocco, backing Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia and threatening Britain's access to the Persian Gulf by building a railway through Baghdad. By the second decade of the 20th century, Germany could rely only on significantly weaker nations such as Austria-Hungary and the declining Ottoman Empire as allies.

Despite strengthening Germany's position as a great power in the short term by building a powerful navy and promoting scientific innovation within its borders, Wilhelm II's erratic foreign policy greatly antagonized the international community and is considered by many to have led to the fall of the German Empire. In 1914, his diplomatic brinksmanship culminated in the guarantee of his country's military support to Austria-Hungary during the July Crisis which ultimately plunged all of Europe into World War I. A lax wartime leader, Wilhelm left virtually all decisions regarding strategy and organisation of the war effort to the German Supreme Army Command. By August 1916, his broad delegation of power gave rise to a de facto military dictatorship that dominated the country's policies in his place for the rest of the conflict. Despite emerging victorious over Russia and obtaining significant territorial gains in Eastern Europe, Germany relinquished all its conquests after its forces were decisively defeated on the Western Front in the autumn 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 which converted Germany into an unstable democratic state known as the Weimar Republic. The Treaty of Versailles stated he would face trial for the war. Wilhelm fled to exile in the Netherlands, where he remained during its occupation by Nazi Germany in 1940 before dying there in 1941.