Ulrich II came of age to rule independently from 1194 and, like his father, remained a loyal supporter of the Imperial Hohenstaufen dynasty. When Emperor Henry VI called for the German Crusade in 1195, the Carinthian duke was among the many nobles who undertook to go, even though he had scarcely reached adulthood. Starting in March 1197 these nobles with their troops left from the south of Italy and Sicily. The main fleet reached Acre in September 1197. The crusade ended after the fall of Sidon and Beirut. Henry VI died of a fever in Messina in October 1197. When they heard the news many of the higher-ranking nobles returning to Germany to protect their interests in the forthcoming Imperial election.