Credit... W. and D. Downey/Getty Images (left and center) and Hulton Archive/Getty Images In the words of historian David Fromkin, ‘the half-German side of him was at war with the half-English side’. There was a time where royals ruled over almost every country in Europe, and through colonization, everywhere on earth. Despite strengthening Germany’s position as a great power by building a blue-water navy and promoting scientific innovation, his tactless public statements and reckless foreign policy greatly antagonized the international community and ultimately plunged his country into World War I. It would be assumed that family relationships would help reduce tension between countries but unfortunately, this was not the case and all sides received huge amounts of casualties. a prism though which to tell the march to the first World War, the creation of the modern industrial world and the follies of hereditary courts and the eccentricities of their royal trans-European cousinhood. Wilhelm II Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline Did you know that at the time of the First World War, the rulers of the world’s three greatest nations – King George V of Great Britain and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on the one hand, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany on the other – were first cousins? King George V of the United Kingdom was the monarch of the winning side and was also the only monarch of the three to remain in power following the end of the war. Many chroniclers of this period have been fascinated by Wilhelm’s rocky relationship with his British relations, particularly noting his fierce animosity towards his Uncle Bertie – dubbed ‘the old peacock’ and even ‘a Satan’ by Wilhelm. King George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II driving in Berlin. The war led to the end of the short-lived monarchy that existed in Germany since the foundation of the nation in 1871. Following his father’s death on the 6th May 1910, George became King. (The latter, notably, were Kaiser Wilhelm’s nephews.) The tumultuous events of 1914-1918 have long overshadowed the fact that the principle monarchs were blood relatives. 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II (cousin of George V) abdicates as Germany faces defeat in World War I. However, moving into the 20th Century, this was changing rapidly. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on the 15th March 1917 and was promptly arrested after extreme unrest in the Russian Empire caused constant protests against the government and monarchy in power. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was born on the 27 th January 1859 to Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal, who was the sister of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (George’s father). A cease-fire was signed between Russia and the central powers on the 15th December 1917 and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on the 3rd March 1918 formally removing Russia from the war. The 1921 Women's Olympiad: 100 years of women's international sport, The magical life of John Dee: Queen Elizabeth I's royal astrologer. Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941), anglicised as William II, was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. You might see startling links between far-flung branches of your tree, and learn the unexpected ways that individuals – perhaps from different backgrounds and living in different countries – shared the same bloodline. By contrast, Wilhelm's cousins, the future Tsar Nicholas and George V, were adored by their mothers, Alexandra and Dagmar - a pair of Danish royal sisters who married into two of … The British Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, declared war on Germany after warning them to leave Belgium by the 3rd August 1914. As a grandson of Queen Victoria in the male line, George was styled His Royal Highness Princ… The Tsar’s ties with the British royals were further cemented when he married Queen Victoria’s favourite granddaughter, Princess Alix of Hesse (who would perish alongside him and their children when the Tsar’s family was massacred by Communist revolutionaries in 1918). Nicholas is believed to have said “You know not what you do” when told that he and his family would be executed. His father was the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. As an infant, he’d been dressed up in full Highland garb for the wedding of his Uncle Bertie (aka, Edward VII) to Alexandra of Denmark. Britain may have been swept up in jingoistic fervour against Germany, with Rudyard Kipling warning that ‘The Hun is at the gate’, but what’s often forgotten is that the British monarch at the time, George V, was the first cousin of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II, both being grandchildren of Queen Victoria. 1918: Czar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra (both cousins of George V) and their royal family are shot in Ekaterinburg. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II both held the power to declare war on each other (and they did) as both were rulers in an absolute monarchy. Create one through Ancestry and there’s no telling what you might learn. When supporting us on Patreon, you will get access to early and exclusive content! George and Nicky’s mothers, Alexandra and Dagmar, were sisters, which explains why they looked so alike. For a dramatic example of the kind of surprising story a family tree can tell, just look at the Royal Family, and the curious constellation of connections behind World War One. The news of the Tsar’s execution was announced 3 days later but the death of the rest of the family was not revealed until late August. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Ireland and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had 9 children that married into various royal families across Europe. Wilhelm also believed that England was the land of Satan and held anti-England views for the remainder of his life. European royalty was pretty much in the end game by the time of King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Czar Nicholas II of Russia. 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Although when war actually came, Wilhelm Whilst in hindsight this seems to have been a very bad decision to make as it led to the death of the entire Romanov family, there was no indication that they were going to be murdered. . It is unfortunate that this indirect family feud could have been prevented due to the family ties but were not utilized correctly. One aspect of the war upon which she remarks is the close connection among the three principal monarchs of the age, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany; King George V of England; and Tsar Nicholas II … It is believed that George had a strong say in this decision. Nicholas and his family were transported to various locations throughout the Russian Empire before being placed in Ipatiev House on the 30th of April 1918. a prism though which to tell the march to the first World War, the creation of the modern industrial world and the follies of hereditary courts and the eccentricities of their royal trans-European cousinhood. When George, Nicholas and Wilhelm met for the last time at the wedding of Wilhelm's daughter in 1913, the meeting was a paradigm of the state of international relations. “The parallel, interrelated lives of Kaiser Wilhelm II, George V, and Nicholas II are . 700,000 Brits were killed, 1.7 million Germans died, and 9.7 million Russian soldiers died with a further 10 million civilians perishing as a result of the war. Nicholas, his entire family, and 4 servants were executed in this location by Bolshevik forces on the 17th July 1918. Learn about 7 key events that took place throughout the fifteenth century in Europe, the Americas, and other parts of the world. The third major royal player in World War One, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, also had a very personal stake in things. By the time his father, Frederick III, ascended the throne on the 9th March 1888 following his own father’s death, he was suffering from an incurable throat cancer that meant he ruled for only 99 days before Wilhelm succeeded at the age of 29. He served as such until the two countries declared war in 1914. Read and learn about 10 interesting facts about Alexander I of Russia that you may have never heard before. Embed. Once again, Wilhelm is confronted with the grandeur of his British relatives. George’s mother, by the way, was Alexandra of Denmark – a significant fact which we’ll get back to in a moment. He was another first cousin of George V, whose mother, Alexandra of Denmark, was the sister of the Tsar’s mother, Dagmar of Denmark. He was temperamentally unsuited to leading his nation, especially in the high-profile figurehead role that was required of him during the First World War. Bring your backstory to life in this series of sponsored articles. He was Queen Victoria's first grandchild. 1918 Their grandmother was Queen Victoria. Of course, conflict did break out. Wilhelm was the firstborn and the heir to the throne of the German Empire when his father died. . Unlike some other monarchies in Europe at the time, the UK was a constitutional monarchy giving George limited to no power to make decisions. “The parallel, interrelated lives of Kaiser Wilhelm II, George V, and Nicholas II are . Proclaimed under our own hand and with the imperial seal attached.” This marked the end of the 47-year monarchy in Germany with some minor attempts to restore it in the following years, none were successful, and Wilhelm lived the rest of his days in various locations in the Netherlands. The women in the family initially survived the first wave of bullets due to wearing a large number of diamonds that offered them protection; they took the diamonds as they were under the impression that they were being relocated rather than executed. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images) Royal Wedding - King George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II driving - Germany - 1913 : News Photo. When Britain joined the First World War on the 4th August 1914, George had been King for just over 4 years. Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, is also present at the funeral of his uncle. In 1917, the British king George V (1865-1936) decided to break relations with his two cousins, German Emperor Wilhelm II (1859-1941) and Russian Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918). The Kaiser, of course, blamed his cousins, King George V and Nicholas II … According to the Daily Mail, Wilhelm was the oldest of the three cousins. As for Wilhelm and Nicholas – well, they were also related, being distant cousins through the Russian and Prussian royal houses. . Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (1859 - 1941), with King George V (1865 - 1936) Royal Cousins at War Nicholas, Alexandra & children, the family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia 1910s. … Due to a complicated breech birth, the young Hohenzollern had to live with a shorter left arm, which he has tried to hide his whole life, taking measures like carrying a pair of white gloves to make his arm seeming longer. The war that pitted 3 cousins against each other in turn ended the life of one (Nicholas) and the power of another (Wilhelm) with only one (George) still in the same position he was in prior to the war. King George V rides with Kaiser Wilhelm II in the grounds of the Potsdam Palace circa 1913. Times were changing and it seemed as though royals were no longer wanted in the world. George V’s father, Edward VII, was Victoria’s eldest son. As well as being closely related, George V and Nicholas II looked uncannily alike and had developed a firm friendship in their younger years. . George Frederick Ernest Albert was born on 3 June 1865, at Marlborough House, London. Wilhelm was ordered to abdicate before any armistice was signed and he did so on the 9th November 1918 leading to the cease-fire being signed on the 11th November 1918. . In his memoirs, Wilhelm calls his third cousin Nicholas “weak and vacillating” and stated that he tried to mend the relationship between the two countries because of a promise he made to his grandfather on his deathbed. Exactly how were they related and how did they influence the First World War? Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was born on the 27th January 1859 to Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal, who was the sister of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (George’s father). The German Kaiser, meanwhile, was Queen Victoria’s grandson through Victoria’s daughter, also named Victoria, who had married Germany’s Frederick III. . George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Germany declared war on Russia on the 1st August 1914 after Russia began mobilizing its troops on the 31st July 1914 as a reaction to Austria-Hungary, an ally of Germany, attacking Serbia, an ally of Russia. He had a withered arm as the result of trauma from his birth. Nicholas was shot multiple times in the chest and was the first to die. Indeed, the Kaiser’s militaristic ambitions and strutting on the European stage may well have been partly fuelled by what Miranda Carter, author of The Three Emperors: Three cousins, Three Empires and the Road to World War One, calls ‘his adolescent touchiness and almost oedipal desire to outdo the British’. Two of Queen Victoria’s many grandchildren, King George V (front, third from right) and Kaiser Wilhelm II (at his right), pose in 1912 outside the mess of the Prussian Foot Guards in Berlin, surrounded by officers of the regiment. King George V of the United Kingdom was born on the 3rd June 1865 to Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Ireland (child of Victoria) and Alexandra of Denmark. A Power Point demonstration of how King George V of England, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany are related. . WILHELM II & GEORGE V, 1913. In 1917, Great Britain had the opportunity to offer sanctuary to the Tsar and his family but when the offer was accepted, the government of the United Kingdom withdrew the offer out of fear that it could cause unrest in their country. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Terms and Conditions, The Kaiser, the Tsar and King George V - cousins at war in WW1, ‘Unknown by name or rank’: The grave of the Unknown Warrior, The last Englishman - the unbelievable wartime exploits of AD Wintle. It does not appear that Wilhelm felt any guilt regarding the execution of the Tsar. This means that he is first cousins with King George V. Wilhelm and Nicholas were not … ©2021 AETN UK. First cousins German Emperor Wilhelm II and George V , King of the United Kingdom, riding together before the outbreak of the First World War,... Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated as German Emperor and King of Prussia in November 1918. . If you want to support HistoryColored further, consider becoming a patron on Patreon! He had become king upon his mother’s death in 1901, only ruling for a scant nine years until he himself died in 1910 when George V took over. They communicated by telegram and letter in the lead up to World War One, calling each other ‘Willy’ and ‘Nicky’, and sounding increasingly concerned about the likelihood of conflict between their nations. Wilhelm II was born in Berlin, then capital of kingdom of Prussia, to prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, on January 27th, 1859. All Rights Reserved. In this case, it involved three cousins, the boys who grew up to be Kaiser Wilhelm II, George V, and Czar Nicholas II, and it manifested as World War One. All had children, so Victoria had 42 grandchildren scattered across Europe with the potential to one day rule a nation. Full Credit: Haeckel Archiv - Ullstein Bild / Granger, NYC -- All Righ From Granger - Historical Picture Archive. On the 1st November 1894, Nicholas took the throne at the young age of 26 after his father died of kidney disease. This means that he is first cousins with King George V. Wilhelm and Nicholas were not first cousins, but they were third cousins. This book is a look at the lives of Tsar Nicholas II, King George V, and Kaiser Wilhelm II in the years from their birth to World War II, with additional focus on Queen Victoria and Edward VII. The unprecedented slaughter of the Great War – mechanised, brutal and shorn of chivalry – was a savage rebuke to the idea that close familial links between royal families would somehow prevent nations from descending into bloodshed. He was unprepared to become Tsar as his father believed that he would rule for many years to come. King George V was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the 8th (Rhenish) Cuirassiers in January 1902, during a visit to Berlin when he was still Prince of Wales. When the … Queen Victoria had been regarded as the grandmother of Europe, and, as royal historian, Theo Aronson writes, ‘there was hardly a Continental court that did not boast at least one of her relations.’ But all of this would count for nothing in the face of the political alliances that tied different European nations to each other, and would ultimately condemn them all to war. Why is St Patrick’s Day bigger than St George’s Day? Following the war, George and Wilhelm did not interact again marking the end of a friendly relationship that existed before the war between the three cousins. The abdication was announced on 9 November by Prince Maximilian of Baden and was formally enacted by Wilhelm's written statement on 28 November, made while in exile in Amerongen, the Netherlands.This ended the House of Hohenzollern's 500-year rule over Prussia and its predecessor state, Brandenburg. 1917: Battle of Passchendale. Nicholas and George V were fairly close and when George found out that Nicholas had been executed, he was devastated. Take this 10 question trivia quiz to see how much you know! George was extremely upset with what happened and despite making the decision, he blamed the politicians for what happened. I expect of them that until the re-establishment of order in the German Empire they shall render assistance to those in actual power in Germany, in protecting the German people from the threatening dangers of anarchy, famine, and foreign rule. At the same time, I release all officials of the German Empire and of Prussia, as well as all officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the navy and of the Prussian army, as well as the troops of the federated states of Germany, from the oath of fidelity which they tendered to me as their Emperor, King, and Commander-in-Chief. King George V blamed the conflict on his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II, on the grounds that he had made it perfectly clear that Britain would go to war alongside France and Imperial Russia. World War I was not necessarily a war led by 3 cousins as King George V of the United Kingdom did not declare war on anyone as this was a power that the Prime Minister held. From left: Czar Nicholas II of Russia, King George V of Britain and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Buy the print. Sky HISTORY is partnering with Ancestry, the world's leading resource for online family history. His mother was the Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra), the eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. Nicholas was the oldest son of Alexander making him the heir to the throne following his father’s death. Had Queen Victoria still been alive, it may have been possible that the ‘Grandmother of Europe’ could have put a stop to the conflict that resulted in 37 million casualties. Britain may have been swept up in jingoistic fervour against Germany, with Rudyard Kipling warning that ‘The Hun is at the gate’, but what’s often forgotten is that the British monarch at the time, George V, was the first cousin of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II, both being grandchildren of Queen Victoria. He was the 2nd oldest child but his older brother, Prince Albert Victor, died on the 14th January 1892 making George the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom. This meant Wilhelm II was at war with his cousin George V and cousins-in-law Nicholas II and Ferdinand I. As many people who’ve used Ancestry will know, the more you map out your family tree, the more surprises you’re likely to uncover. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was born on the 18th May 1868 to Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark) making him first cousins with George through his mother, who was the sister of George’s mother Alexandra; Nicholas also married a first cousin of George, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, so technically he is a cousin of blood and marriage.