History UsefulNotes / PrussianKings

'''Reigned:''' 29 April 1688 – 18 January 1701 (as Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg); 18 January 1701 – 25 February 1713 (as King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg)\\

UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} became a kingdom relatively late, in 1701 to be precise - much later than the old kingdoms of Western and UsefulNotes/{{Central|Europe}} UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}. Its monarchs were descended from the Dukes of Prussia, who managed to become Electors of Brandenburg, a constituent state of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire.

!!Specific pages:

Specific pages:

!!Wilhelm II

See [[UsefulNotes/WilhelmII his page]].

Grandson of UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria through his mother, which made him a first cousin of Tsar UsefulNotes/NicholasII of Russia and King [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor George V]] of Great Britain.

[[FreudianExcuse Had a crippled arm]], because an incompetent doctor messed up during his difficult birth. Many people claim this is the reason why he was (Over) CompensatingForSomething, with his uniform fetish and building up the German navy (together with admiral Tirpitz), which had to tick off Britain. [[FreudianExcuse Also had a bad relationship with his mother]], British-born Empress Victoria, who was in favor of liberalism and democracy.

Fired Bismarck after two years in office. Sometimes acted like a JerkJock, for example when he once slapped the Bulgarian Tsar on his butt ([[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer no, really!]]). Once met Annie Oakley in her [[TheWildWest Wild West show]] and volunteered for a stunt that could have backfired – she would shoot off the tip of a cigar he held in his hand.

Wanted "a place in the sun" for Germany. Infamously made his "Hun speech" during the Boxer Rebellion (making things easier for British propaganda in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI).

Even before World War I, his hotheadedness came back to bite him in 1908 during the "''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Daily Telegraph]]'' Affair," in which the same-named British newspaper republished remarks he had made to a British officer that then-Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow failed to edit properly. The remarks said that Wilhelm had no intention of waging war with Britain, but his emotional tone during the interview undermined his point, as he called the English "mad as march hares" for doubting his intentions. The whole episode resulted in serious calls being made for Wilhelm's abdication, Wilhelm himself maintaining a low profile for several months as his self-confidence was damaged, and Chancellor von Bülow being forced to resign.

Wasn't able to prevent UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, despite being related to most European monarchs. After 1916, he was practically powerless because Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff now ran the country.

[[AbdicateTheThrone Abdicated]] in 1918 and went to exile in the Netherlands, in the city of Doorn. Spent most of his time there with woodcutting, killing thousands of trees.

In 1925, the German far right approached his son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, to run for President of UsefulNotes/WeimarGermany, a position almost as powerful as emperor of Imperial Germany, and the former crown prince was inclined to accept. Wilhelm II however forbade his son from doing so, saying that he'd have to swear an oath on the constitution and a proper Hohenzollern doesn't get power through some constitution like a Bonaparte and if he broke the oath, he'd be no proper Prussian. The right ultimately turned to World War I General Paul von Hindenburg, who won the election.

Throughout the 1930s, many of the rightists who were not content with Nazi rule quietly agitated for a return to monarchy, which was not as impossible as it sounds, as Wilhelm, besides Hitler himself, had been the last German ruler with broad appeal across the country in most people's living memory and would have had the support of conservative traditionalists, and the leftists who were being cracked down on like walnuts would have settled for just about anyone.

Wilhelm himself didn't involve himself in these intrigues. He wasn't too fond of [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany The Nazis]] (and even less of the fact that some of his sons liked them), but had a pipe dream that they might one day help him to return Germany to the monarchy. Still congratulated Hitler for defeating France. Died in 1941.

* '''Wilhelm III (1941-1951 in pretension):''' The eldest son and Crown Prince to Wilhelm II, having grown up at the height of German imperialism and power, he took to the idea of German expansionism with vigor. At the time of World War I's outbreak, however, he was in the minority of German elites considering it to be a wasteful and pointless conflict, but now that Germany was involved, he was committed to seeing it through. Like many German nobles, he was given a high army rank and command of an army, with a professional soldier as chief of staff who was supposed to [[TheManBehindTheMan really be in charge]]. His record as a general was unexceptional, with his main operation, the siege of the French city of Verdun, having inflicted high casualties on the enemy but ending in failure to capture the city. After the war, he joined his father in exile, but was allowed to return to Germany in 1923 after his friend Gustav Stresemann was elected Chancellor. He met with Hitler several times throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and was encouraged to run for the German Presidency. He declined after his father discouraged the idea, and instead turned to supporting Hitler's Nazi party as a means to his family to regain power. But after realizing that Hitler had no intention of returning the monarchy to power, he withdrew from politics completely after the assassination of his friend, former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher, in the Night of the Long Knives, though he remained in Germany throughout [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII World War II]]. He died in 1951 of a heart attack.

* '''Wilhelm III (1941-1951 in pretension):''' The eldest son and Crown Prince to Wilhelm II, having grown up at the height of German imperialism and power, he took to the idea of German expansionism with vigor. At the time of World War I's outbreak, however, he was in the minority of German elites considering it to be a wasteful and pointless conflict, but now that Germany was involved, he was committed to seeing it through. Like many German nobles, he was given a high army rank and command of an army, with a professional soldier as chief of staff who was supposed to [[TheManBehindTheMan really be in charge]]. His record as a general was unexceptional, with his main operation, the siege of the French city of Verdun, having inflicted high casualties on the enemy but ending in failure to capture the city. After the war, he joined his father in exile, but was allowed to return to Germany in 1923 after his friend Gustav Stresemann was elected Chancellor. He met with Hitler several times throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and was encouraged to run for the German Presidency. He declined after his father discouraged the idea, and instead turned to supporting Hitler's Nazi party as a means to his family to regain power. But after realizing that Hitler had no intention of returning the monarchy to power, he withdrew from politics completely, though he remained in Germany throughout [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII World War II]]. He died in 1951 of a heart attack.

Frederick had no children ([[AgentPeacock in fact, he was most certainly gay]]), leading the throne passing to his nephew…

Wanted "a place in the sun" for Germany. Infamously made his "Hun speech" during the Boxer Rebellion (making things easier for British propaganda in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI).

Frederick had no children (in fact, most historians are now certain that he was gay), leading the throne passing to his nephew…

As prince, Frederick's taste for art and philosophy went against the wishes of his militaristic, autocratic father, which led to the aforementioned episode in which he tried to run away from home.

'''Nickname:''' ''Friedrich der Große'' ("UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat"); ''Der Alte Fritz'' ("Old Fritz")

Even before World War I, his hotheadedness came back to bite him in 1908 during the "''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Daily Telegraph]]'' Affair," in which the same-named British newspaper republished remarks he had made to a British officer that then-Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow failed to edit properly. The remarks said that Wilhelm had no intention of waging war with Britain, but his emotional tone during the interview undermined his point, as he called the English "mad as march hares" for doubting his intentions. The whole episode resulted in serious calls being made for Wilhelm's abdication, Wilhelm himself maintaining a low profile for several months, and Chancellor von Bülow being forced to resign.

Even before World War I, his hotheadedness came back to bite him in 1908 during the "''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Daily Telegraph]]'' Affair," in which the same-named British newspaper republished remarks he had made to a British officer that then-Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow failed to edit properly. The remarks said that Wilhelm had no intention of waging war with Britain, but his emotional tone during the interview undermined his point, as he called the English "mad as march hares" for doubting his intentions. The whole episode resulted in the Kaiser's self-confidence being undermined, serious calls being made for his abdication, and Chancellor von Bülow being forced to resign.

Even before World War I, his hotheadedness came back to bite him in 1908 during the "''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Daily Telegraph]]'' Affair," in which the same-named British newspaper republished remarks he had made to a British officer that then-Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow failed to edit properly. The remarks said that Wilhelm had no intention of waging war with Britain, but his emotional tone during the interview undermined his point, as he called the English "mad as march hares" for doubting him. The whole episode resulted in the Kaiser's self-confidence being undermined, serious calls being made for his abdication, and Chancellor von Bülow being forced to resign.

Wanted "a place in the sun" for Germany. Infamously made his "Hun speech" during the Boxer Rebellion (making things easier for British propaganda in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI). With the "''Daily Telegraph'' affair," he was close to stepping down, but stayed at the end.