Which grandson of Queen Victoria was the last German Emperor?

Which grandson of Queen Victoria was the last German Emperor? Wilhelm II. Born in Berlin in 1859, Wilhelm was the eldest son of Victoria, Princess Royal, Queen Victoria’s first child. Through his mother, he was Queen Victoria’s grandson and one of the many royal relatives linking Britain and the German imperial family.

Wilhelm became German Emperor and King of Prussia in 1888 after the brief reign of his father, Frederick III, who died after only 99 days on the throne. His reign saw rapid industrial growth, naval expansion, imperial competition, and increasingly tense relations among Europe’s great powers. He was also a cousin of King George V and Tsar Nicholas II.

Wilhelm abdicated in November 1918 after Germany’s defeat in the First World War, ending the German Empire. Frederick III was his father and predecessor, not the final emperor. Nicholas II was Russia’s last emperor, while George V was Britain’s king; those close family connections make the options especially easy to mix up.