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The Last Kaiser : William the Impetuous

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Prussia's last King and Germany's last Kaiser was born in Potsdam in 1859, the son of Prince Frederick of Prussia and Princess Vicky, Queen Victoria's eldest child. William was born with a withered arm and suffered from cerebral palsy.

Believed mad by some, eccentric by others, he possessed a ferocious temper, was rumoured to have sired numerous illegitimate children (and suspected of homosexual affairs) and yet appeared a prig.

A power grabber who built a fleet targeted at Britain, he nevertheless idolised Queen Victoria who, he claimed, died in his arms.

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Product Details
1842124781 / 9781842124789
Paperback
21/06/2001
United Kingdom
English
x, 532p., [16]p. of plates : ill.
24 cm
general Learn More
Reprint. Originally published: London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000.
'highly readable and well-paced' Richard Overy, Sunday Telegraph 'From his wardrobe to his warships, this half-English emperor was more than half in love with the nation he professed to treat with contempt. Envious he certainly was, but his underestimation of the British Empire, then still the only global superpower, was to be fatally repeated by the Nazis.' Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph
'highly readable and well-paced' Richard Overy, Sunday Telegraph 'From his wardrobe to his warships, this half-English emperor was more than half in love with the nation he professed to treat with contempt. Envious he certainly was, but his underestimation of the British Empire, then still the only global superpower, was to be fatally repeated by the Nazis.' Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph 1DFG Germany, 3JH c 1800 to c 1900, 3JJC c 1900 - c 1914, BGH Biography: historical, political & military, BGR Biography: royalty, HBJD European history, HBLL Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, HBLW 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000