by Giles Mac Donogh (Author)
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.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 528
Edition: New
Publisher: Phoenix Press
Published: 21 Jun 2001
ISBN 10: 1842124781
ISBN 13: 9781842124789
Book Overview: '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