Family and Foe of World War I: An Album Leaf Signed by Royal leaders Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and His First Cousin King George V of Britain

An extraordinary rarity, this is the first time we have ever seen on one sheet the signatures of these two leaders in World War I along with their Queens

World War One was a war not merely of nations, but also one within a family. Britain and Germany may have been swept up in jingoistic fervor against one another, but what’s often forgotten is that the British monarch at the time, King George V, was the first cousin of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II, both being grandchildren of Queen Victoria. George V’s father, Edward VII, was Victoria’s eldest son. He had become king upon his mother’s death in 1901, only ruling for a scant nine years until he himself died in 1910, when George V took over as King. George’s mother was Alexandra of Denmark.

The German Kaiser was Queen Victoria’s grandson through Victoria’s daughter, also named Victoria, who had married Germany’s Kaiser Frederick III. In fact, Wilhelm’s ties with the British Royal Family were far more than a mere matter of genetics. As an infant, he’d been dressed up in full Highland garb for the wedding of his Uncle Bertie (aka, Edward VII) to Alexandra of Denmark. As a teenager, he’d been awarded the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria, and he would even be present at her deathbed.

Many chroniclers of this period have been fascinated by Wilhelm’s rocky relationship with his British relations, particularly noting his fierce animosity towards his Uncle Edward – dubbed ‘the old peacock’ and even ‘a Satan’ by Wilhelm. In the words of a historian, ‘the half-German side of him was at war with the half-English side’. Indeed, the Kaiser’s militaristic ambitions and strutting on the European stage may well have been partly fueled by what may be seen as his adolescent touchiness and almost oedipal desire to outdo the British in everything.

Wilhelm II was married to Auguste Victoria, and George V to Victoria Mary (known as Mary).

Wilhelm and Augusta paid a state visit to Britain in November 1907, arriving on November 11. The Emperor was met by a welcoming partly consisting of the Prince of Wales (later King George V), Lord Roberts, and the German ambassador. The group headed directly to Windsor from the coastal city to be hosted by King Edward VII. There was a royal gathering at Windsor on the 17th November, with members of Europe’s royalty meeting at Windsor Castle. A photograph taken at the time shows Wilhelm with his British relatives.

A few days before that, on November 13, Wilhelm and Augusta, and George and Victoria Mary, got together and all four signed this album leaf. Wilhelm has signed as William, an anglicized form of his name that he often used while in Britain, and his wife as Auguste Victoria; George has signed George P (for Prince of Wales, his position at the time) and his wife as Victoria Mary. In seven years these four would lead their peoples in World War I.

It is an extraordinary rarity to find on one sheet the signatures of these two leaders in World War I along with their Queens. We’ve never seen it before.