Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 1888 until his abdication in 1918. The eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and first cousin of King George V and Tsar Nicholas II, he ascended the throne during the 'Year of the Three Emperors' at age 29.

Dismissal of Bismarck and Weltpolitik

Impatient with the cautious balance-of-power diplomacy of Iron Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm dismissed him in 1890 and embarked on an assertive, militaristic course known as Weltpolitik ('World Policy'). Intending to claim Germany's 'place in the sun,' he championed the massive buildup of the Imperial German Navy under Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. This aggressive challenge to British naval supremacy thoroughly alienated Great Britain and accelerated the formation of the rival Triple Entente between Britain, France, and Russia.

The Blank Check and Abdication

During the July Crisis of 1914, Wilhelm pledged Germany's unconditional support to Austria-Hungary—the notorious 'Blank Check'—enabling Vienna to wage war on Serbia and detonating World War I. As the conflict devolved into brutal total war, Wilhelm was increasingly sidelined by the de facto military dictatorship of Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. Following catastrophic battlefield collapses and the outbreak of the Kiel mutiny and the November Revolution in 1918, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate, fleeing to Doorn in the Netherlands and bringing an end to the five-century-old Hohenzollern dynasty.