page_title: Wilhelm II, German Emperor
section_title: First marriage and issue
hierarchical_section_title: Wilhelm II, German Emperor / First marriage and issue
caption_attribution_description: English: German State Prussia Wedding Medal 1881 Prince Wilhelm and Auguste Victoria Bronze medallion. d. = 54 mm. Wilhelm II, German Emperor. 1888 - 1918 and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the last German empress and queen of Prussia, * 1858 - 1921 † Around 2 portraits facing each other below royal crown: "WILHELM PR.V. PREUSSEN VICTORIA PR.Z. SCHLESW. HOLST."/ The royal couple shaking hands in front of 3 squires carrying the shields of Prussia, Germany, and Schleswig-Holstein. 2 lines in exergue: "VERMAEHLT BERLIN 27 FEBR. 1881". Slg Marienburg 6783; Sommer K 94; Lange 570 b. Condition: EXTREMELY FINE+.
context_page_description: Wilhelm II, anglicised as William II, was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. His reign lasted from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. Despite cementing Germany’s status as a global power by building a blue-water navy and promoting scientific innovation, his tactless public statements and reckless foreign policy antagonized the international community and ultimately plunged his country into the First World War. When Germany was defeated in November 1918, he was forced to abdicate, thereby bringing an end to the Hohenzollern dynasty’s three-hundred year rule.
  As the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm's first cousins included George V of the United Kingdom and many princesses who, along with Wilhelm's sister Sophia, became European consorts. For most of his life before becoming emperor, he was second in line to succeed his grandfather Wilhelm I on the German and Prussian thrones after his father, Frederick. His grandfather and father both died in 1888, the Year of Three Emperors, making Wilhelm emperor and king. He dismissed the country's longtime chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, in 1890.
context_section_description: Wilhelm and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, were married on 27 February 1881. They had seven children:
  Empress Augusta, known affectionately as "Dona", was a constant companion to Wilhelm, and her death on 11 April 1921 was a devastating blow. It also came less than a year after their son Joachim committed suicide.
caption: The reverse shows the couple in Medieval costumes in front of 3 squires carrying the shields of Prussia, Germany, and Schleswig-Holstein
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