What if Kaiser Wilhelm II Became King of England

It's a well known fact that European royal families were prone to interbreeding, to the point that practically every single European royal was related to pretty much every other. And, this led to some pretty interesting dynamics at times. In particular, in England, with just a few tweaks to their rules to succession, the British throne could have ended up passing to Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Emperor of Germany, whom Britain fought against during World War I. But, though this never came to pass, what if it did? What if Kaiser Wilhelm II became King of England? Enjoy!

MUSIC:

Video Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:27 Background
5:34 Scenario

[LT.KiraHertling]

This is indeed an interesting scenario, with Wilhelm II assuming both the British and German thrones, many problems would have been avoided. But the narrative that Wilhelm II was an authoritarian tyrant bothers me a lot, this whole myth is the result of the anti-German feeling that began to grow in Europe after German Unification, and mainly of British propaganda in the First World War. Wilhelm was an exemplary monarch and very active in protecting and guaranteeing the rights of the Germans during his reign. The story that he wanted to rival the Royal Navy is completely untrue, the expansion of the Kaiserliche Marine was aimed at protecting Germany's commercial routes in the event of a naval blockade (which actually happened), and to guarantee new routes for the expanding trade. The British government found itself threatened economically by German growth, so it created the lie that they wanted to challenge them. Wilhelm himself greatly admired Britain, he would probably never try anything to limit the rights and freedoms of the British if he became king. It's much easier to say bad things about someone than to say good things about them. His legacy as a monarch who really took his duty as a leader very seriously and was extremely considerate of his people has been tarnished by British lies and narratives, and also by the men who simply turned Kaiser Wilhelm II himself into a ceremonial and pointless figure. powers during the war, imposing a military dictatorship that doomed the German Empire to failure and defeat, and everyone threw the blame on the one man who really tried to do the right thing and resolve everything peacefully.

[mysticalmonotreme]

An interesting and well thought out scenario except for one detail: the fate of Britain's Dominions. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand would definitely begin to distance themselves from the Home Islands once Wilhelm II begins dismantling British Liberalism and exercise greater autonomy or declare outright independence from the UK to protect themselves. Wilhelm II exert any power of them, particularly Canada as the United States would invoke the Monroe Doctrine to warn against any notions of establishing an absolutist monarchy on North American soil. Australia and New Zealand may be too distant for him to exert any direct over. All three will likely see a growing British Diaspora as rebels and dissidents will likely seek safe have from Wilhelmite Britain. An interesting wrinkle could be that Canada recognizes OTL George V and his heirs as the legitimate claimants to the throne once he arrives in Ottawa with a portion of the Royal Navy following suit similar to Kaiserreich.

I could be South Africa falling under German influence as Wilhelm II, though, given its strategic location. The big question is was will happened to British possessions in Asia.

[Cool-]

An actually original scenario involving the German Empire (barring Wilhelm being a serial killer lol), bravo, well executed and well done!

[jgr]

#2 would drastically change our timeline because he didn't have to abdicate in favour of his cousin, but he could have done it in favour of a sibling or a child.
You could have also listed #1.5, where he keeps being full German Emperor & reigns as King of the UK just like his English ancestors did: via the Prime Minister.

Besides that, WHY would the British people be that against him? Him having been the heir apparent of the UK would have had a totally different upbringing & he would have never tried to build more ships than the UK, because - in his mind - both navies would have been his. Also, this changes everything about the Fashoda Incident & the 2 Marocco Crisis, as Britain & Germany would have been allies, thus the UK wouldn't have sided with France.

[EAlyahya]

If the absolute primogeniture was there during the Queen Victoria time, then Wilhelm would be raised in the British court to prepare him as the future constitutional monarch for the UK. And to argue further, will his mother being the future queen still be married to the future German Kaiser? Maybe the princess royal got to marry someone else.

[coopernieman]

I say this one was a very interesting one. Suggestion: What if the Italian monarch party won the vote after the dissolve of facist Italy?

[Lepidivs]

4:37 The kaiser never wanted to surpass or even compete Britain in the navy because he knew that that would be stupid. The reason they build up the navy so much was because in case of a war with Britain the German people would starve from a blockade, because in the time 50% of the food in Germany was imported. It was also to grow the German market and protect it's colonies. The British made it seem as a competition when it was really not

[HusZat]

Josh: "... turning Britain itself into a German colony."

Me: "You mispronounced 'Angelsachsen' (Anglosaxony) ...." ⚫⚪🔴

[MieheKnoi]

Always a pleasure to see an upload from you.

[kotoid]

The anglo-german arms race was not, in fact, the first strain on British-German relations. The first real strain was actually the Jameson Raid and Wilhelm II's telegraph written to the Boer president at the time. Von Holstein actually described this incident as the beginning of Anglo-German antagonism.

[danielsantiagourtado]

Josh! You're amazing!

I have an idea: Whatbif rudolf, crown prince of austria and franz joseph I only son and heir, didnt end his own life and lived to reform the empire

[MajinTurles-nggy]

Could you make a "What If Britain had a Habsburg King"

[panzerscoutempire]

I highly recommend you the Video from Lavader: Kaiser Wilhelms Innocence

I think it really portrays the Kaiser in an just light and shows it wasn't his fault the relations deteriorated between the 2 countries

[therearenoshortcuts]

"what if"

France: holy shit...

[motivationallizard]

There is a massive problem with this scenario you didn’t bring up, and it’s the fact that Wilhelm was a Lutheran and not an Anglican. The English monarch is the head of the Anglican faith and to become king/queen you need to be an Anglican. If Wilhelm never converted he would simply not inherit the throne and it would pass on as it did in our timeline to George. If Wilhelm did convert he would face massive Catholic and Lutheran opposition in Germany as the Anglicans weren’t exactly popular.

[Mr_OogaBooga]

Love your videos! I hope mr Z helps your grow even more

[ivandinsmore]

Under modern British succession rules this would actually happen. Victoria would be succeeded by her eldest child, her daughter Victoria, who in turn would be succeeded by Wilhelm.

[charmyzard]

Ever heard about the story of the "Peace Kasier?" He was basically coherced to allow his foreign affairs minister to send the infamous Boer telegram under strong accusations of being a British puppet, as well as being called an "admirer of everything British."
Plus, going off of warm comments he made regarding his grandmother Victoria, saying he'd turn Britain into a colony and go an authoritarian rampage (being of the only monarchs in Europe worrying about the working class' plight much to everyone's surprise that one convention, ) is a stretch too far. Even more when the German Empire is infamous for universal male suffrage, being even more democratic than Britain.

[danielsantiagourtado]

Love your videos man! Suggestion: what if miguel da paz survived?

[radwald]

As an englishman i wouldve accepted this arrangement. The difference between us and the Germans are laughable and personally i dont even see them as a foreign folk.