Wilhelm, German Crown Prince

## Head of State

### Head of State Title

Crown Prince of Germany, South Germany, German Ost Pacific and the German Empire.

## Info

### Children

Prince Wilhelm
Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
Prince Hubertus
Prince Friedrich
Princess Alexandrine
Princess Cecilie

### Relatives

Prince Eitel Friedrich (brother)
Prince Adalbert
Prince August Wilhelm
Prince Oskar
Prince Joachim
Viktoria Luise, Duchess of Wales

## Military Fighter

### Wars

World War I

**Friedrich Wilhelm** (born 6 May 1882), known popularly as simply **Wilhelm**, is the current Crown Prince (German: *Kronprinz*) of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. As the eldest son of *Kaiser* Wilhelm II, he is first in the line of succession.

## History

### Early Life

Wilhelm was born on 6 May 1882 in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg. He was the eldest son of Wilhelm II, the last German *Kaiser* (Emperor) (b. 1859), and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (1858–1921).

When he was born, his great-grandfather Wilhelm I was the emperor and his grandfather Crown Prince Frederick was the heir apparent, making Wilhelm third in line to the throne. His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown Princess Victoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his aunt Helena to help. His mother was hurt and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm's great-grandmother, furious. When his great-grandfather and grandfather both died in 1888, six-year-old Wilhelm became the heir apparent to the German and Prussian thrones.

Wilhelm was a supporter of association football, then a relatively new sport in the country, donating a cup to the German Football Association in 1908 and thereby initiating the *Kronprinzenpokal (now Länderpokal)*, the oldest cup competition in German football. The German club BFC Preussen was also originally named BFC Friedrich Wilhelm in his honour.

In 1914, the Kaiser ordered the construction of Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam for Prince Wilhelm and his family. The Schloss was loosely inspired by Bidston Court in Birkenhead, England, resembling a Tudor manor. Completed in 1917, it became the main residence for the Crown Prince for a time.

### World War I

Wilhelm had been active in pushing German expansion, and sought a leading role on the outbreak of war. Despite being only thirty-two and having never commanded a unit larger than a regiment, the German Crown Prince was named commander of the 5th Army in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I. However, under the well-established Prussian/German General Staff model then in use, inexperienced nobles who were afforded commands of large army formations were always provided with (and expected to defer to the advice of) experienced chiefs of staff to assist them in their duties. As Emperor, Wilhelm's father instructed the Crown Prince to defer to the advice of his experienced chief of staff Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf.

In October 1914 Wilhelm gave his first interview to a foreign correspondent and the first statement to the press made by a German noble since the outbreak of war. He denied promoting military solutions to diplomatic problems, and said this in English:

From August 1915 onwards, Wilhelm was given the additional role as commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince. In 1916 his troops began the Verdun Offensive, a year-long effort to destroy the French armies that would end in failure. Wilhelm relinquished command of the 5th Army in November of that year, but remained commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the rest of the war.

### After the War

After the war he had become the Crown Prince of the Largest Empire in the world as the Empire has 29 Puppet States in Europe, Asia Minor and Northern Africa, a giant colony in Africa known as South Germany and the vast Oceanic Colony known as the German Ost Pacific. He had helped Hindenburg create Diversity and Representation programs for non German citizens in the Empire to help stabilize the Empire and make transition from Wartime to Civilian mode for the Empire easier. He grumbled at his father's decision to marry Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (now known as Empress Hermine)

After Hindenburg's assassination, Erich Ludendorff and his deputy Adolf Hitler then took charge of the throne and declared a state of Emergency to arrest all socialists. Wilhelm was not pleased about the situation.

## Marriages and Children

In June, 6 1905, the *Kronprinz* married the youngest daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was finally known as Princess Cecilie von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (born 20 September 1886). Despite the well-known unfaithfulness of her husband, she is known as a dignifed woman: Cecilienhof Palace, known as the shelter of most artists in Germany looking for a patron, such as famous architect Albert Speer, was built for her. The total of children they have is six with 4 sons and 2 daughters.

* **Prince Wilhelm** (born Wilhelm Friedrich Franz Joseph Christian Olaf on 4 July 1906), second in line. Married Dorothea von Salviati in 1933 and they have no kids so far.
* **Prince Ludwig Ferdinand** (born Louis Ferdinand Viktor Eduard Albert Michael Hubertus on 9 November 1907) married Dorothea von Salviati in 1933
* **Prince Hubertus** (born Hubertus Karl Wilhelm on 30 December 1909), married Ilse Braun (b. 1909)
* **Prince Friedrich** (born Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Christoph on 19 December 1911), married Baroness Maria von Humboldt-Dachroeden (b. 1916)
* **Princess Alexandrine** (born Alexandrine Irene on 7 April 1915), mentally disabled.
* **Princess Cecilie** (born 5 September 1917), still unmarried