Speaking of Kaiser Wilhelm II, he might be best remembered as a grumpy man, who ambitiously wanted to expand the empire, but you might not be very aware that even though his marriage was arranged, it was a very happy one.
Kaiser Wilhelm II, born Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was the eldest child of Kaiser Friedrich III and Victoria, Princess Royal. Through his mother, Wilhelm was the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria. He was born with a withered left arm, a result of Erb's palsy, which was suggested to be one of the reasons why he was grumpy and reckless. This led to his impertinence in politics and diplomacy, and it also contributed to the worsening relationship between Germany and the United Kingdom, Russia, as well as many other countries.
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia by Kegel, Jul 1875
(Photo Credit : Royal Collection Trust)
Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, known as Dona, was the eldest surviving child of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, and Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Through Dona's mother, she was Queen Victoria's great-niece. The Schleswig-Holstein Question was a very complicated matter, and it led to the frequent migration of her family.
Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein by Alexander Bassano, c. 1880
(Photo Credit : Royal Collection Trust)
In 1868, the 10-year-old first met Prince Wilhelm, who was a few months younger than her. In the following years, both fell in love with different people, but they failed to marry the ones they loved. Wilhelm proposed to his beautiful first cousin, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, but she rejected him. Instead, she married a Romanov and was one of the Romanovs who were murdered by the Bolsheviks. Dona fell in love with Prince Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen, her first cousin. However, she was sent to England by her parents, as they opposed the match.
In Summer 1878, Wilhelm and Dona met again and began to fall in love, and marriage was put into discussion. As a Princess of Schleswig-Holstein, Dona's rank was considered not high enough to be the wife of the future German Kaiser. Despite the opposition of Wilhelm's parents, Otto von Bismarck supported the match, since he believed it could solve the Schleswig-Holstein conflicts. And with Wilhelm's determination to marry Dona to move on, he married her at last, in 1881.
Left : Prince Wilhelm and his fiancee, 1880
Right : Prince and Princess Wilhelm of Prussia, 1883
(Photo credit : Royal Collection Trust & Pinterest)
Despite his grumpiness, Wilhelm loved and cherished his wife and greatly depended on her. Dona was perhaps the only person who could calm him down and had no trouble in pampering him. She was more artistic, but both shared very conservative political views and deep religious faith. When Dona became Empress in 1888, she was even more popular than Wilhelm.
Dona bore Wilhelm six sons, then a daughter, who was the Kaiser's favourite. Absolutely worshipped him, Dona believed that Wilhelm was exceptional and she did all she could to serve him. Despite being busy, Wilhelm would often spend time with his family.
Wilhelm and Dona and their seven children, ca. 1896-97
(Photo credit : Pinterest)
Dona was definitely the guardian angel to Wilhelm. However, Wilhelm was also very protective of his wife. When Dona was eight months pregnant for the sixth time, she summoned Crown Princess Sophia of Greece, the Kaiser's sister, who wished to convert her faith to Greek Orthodoxy after a long consideration. Dona warned that neither herself nor Wilhelm would agree with her, but Sophie claimed that it was her business. Eventually, due to the enormous pressure and the intense arguments, Dona gave birth prematurely to her sixth son, named Prince Joachim, who was weak and fragile. The fact that he also suffered epileptic fits also was clearly due to the trauma of that argument. Very concerned of Dona and the newborn Joachim, Wilhelm blamed Sophia, claiming that if Joachim died, it would be Sophia who murdered her. Due to Joachim's weakness, he was overly protected by his mother.
Donna (middle) and her two youngest children, Prince Joachim (right) and Princess Victoria Louise (left), 1907
(Photo credit : Wikipedia)
When the guardian angel fell, so did he.
The stress in World War I caused Dona a toll, which also had a huge effect on Wilhelm. As the nation headed to war, Wilhelm often consulted her. However, her conservatism and anti-British bias helped push the country toward war. During WWI she threw herself into more charity work and became head of the German arm of the Red Cross, but was also there to side with the Kaiser and the military against the elected parliament in times when the war was going badly. When Wilhelm was away from Berlin for once, Dona suffered from a heart attack and a stroke.
Left : Wilhelm and Dona, 1907
Right : Princess Victoria Louise (left) and her parents, Wilhelm and Dona, 1907
(Photo credit : Pinterest)
During the 11th birthday party of Dona's grandson, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, she received a telephone call that the Kaiser had just abdicated, who then decided to flee to the Netherlands. For Dona, she chose to stay with Wilhelm. Sick and aging quickly, she was still as devoted to him as ever. The soldiers who accompanied them on her journey dressed in plainclothes to hide their important mission from revolutionaries.
Suffering from tremendous and endless heart pains, and the death of Joachim, Dona died at the age of 61 in exile, in 1921, and Wilhelm was devastated. He fulfilled her wish to be buried in Germany, and when her remains were allowed to. Wilhelm, who could not travel back to Germany to attend her funeral, accompanied his wife's remains until he reached the border.
"...thou- sands upon thousands lined the railway tracks, which were leading their revered Princess home. Whenever the train stopped, there were hundreds and thousands in their mourning clothes, waiting to say farewell. Church choirs sang, and bands played the music of hymns. And along the countryside, waiting by railway embankments, farmers' wives sank to their knees and prayed."－Victoria Louise, Duchess of Brunswick and the Kaiser's daughter, in her memoir
Even though Wilhelm married Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, the widow of Prince Johann of Schönaich-Carolath, within a year of Dona's death, the second marriage was not as happy as the first one. Both Wilhelm and Hermine shared several same political views, and Wilhelm enjoyed the accompaniment of Hermine which led to the marriage. However, shortly before the couple's first wedding anniversary, Haehner recorded how Hermine had told him how "inconsiderately [Wilhelm] behaved towards her" and how Wilhelm's face showed "a strong dislike" for his wife.
Hermine and Wilhelm, 1929
(Photo credit : Pinterest)
In 1941, Wilhelm died, and Hermine left the Netherlands and returned to Germany. Until today, Wilhelm's body remained in Huis Doorn, and was rejected to be reburied in Germany. While his two wives remains were in Germany.
Surely, Kaiser Wilhelm II was a definitely unpopular historical figure, but his love to Dona and his family, and the contribution and devotion of Dona to the family, should be recognized.
Wilhelm and Dona and their grandchildren, ca 1910s
(Photo credit : Pinterest)
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