Early 1900's GERMAN POSTCARD William I, Frederick III, Wilhelm II Emperors

Description

Early 1900's GERMAN POSTCARD William I, Frederick III, Wilhelm II  Emperors
William I
or
Wilhelm I
[2]
(
German
:
Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig
; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was
King of Prussia
from 2 January 1861 and
German Emperor
from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the
House of Hohenzollern
, he was the first
head of state
of a united Germany. He was de facto head of state of Prussia from 1858, when he became regent for his brother
Frederick William IV
, and he became king when his brother died three years later.
Frederick III
(
German
:
Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl
; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888) was
German Emperor
and
King of Prussia
between March and June 1888, during the
Year of the Three Emperors
. Known informally as "Fritz",
[1]
he was the only son of
Emperor Wilhelm I
and was raised in his family's tradition of military service. Although celebrated as a young man for his leadership and successes during the
Second Schleswig
,
Austro-Prussian
and
Franco-Prussian
wars,
[2]
[3]
he nevertheless professed a hatred of warfare and was praised by friends and enemies alike for his humane conduct. Following the
unification of Germany
in 1871 his father, then King of Prussia, became the German Emperor. Upon Wilhelm's death at the age of ninety on 9 March 1888, the thrones passed to Frederick, who had by then been German Crown Prince for seventeen years and Crown Prince of Prussia for twenty-seven years. Frederick was suffering from
cancer of the larynx
when he died, aged fifty-six, following unsuccessful medical treatments for his condition.
Wilhelm II
(Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941), anglicised as
William II
, was the
German Emperor
(
Kaiser
) and final
King of Prussia
. He reigned in both Germany and Prussia from 15 June 1888. He ceased to be a dual monarch when he abdicated Germany to his Cousin on 9 November 1918. He reigned as the final King of Prussia until his death in 1941, which caused Prussia to be declared permanently defunct. Despite strengthening Germany's position as a
great power
by building a
blue-water navy
and promoting scientific innovation, his tactless public statements greatly antagonized the international community and his foreign policy was seen by many as one of the causes for the outbreak of
World War I
. When the German war effort collapsed after a series of crushing defeats on the
Western Front
in 1918, he was
forced to abdicate
, thereby bringing an end to the three-hundred-year rule of the
House of Hohenzollern
.