Through the years - Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (1882-1951)

Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire from 1888 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1918. During the First World War Wilhelm was the commander of the 5th Army, although he himself opposed the war and claimed Germany did not want it. After the end of the war and the outbreak of the German Revolution, Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands along with his father. Although the former emperor would never leave the Netherlands again, Wilhelm returned to Germany in 1923 under the condition that he would not interfere with politics. He soon broke this promise as he openly supported Adolf Hitler during his rise to power, hoping that he would restore the monarchy, and even considered running for president himself until he was dissuaded by his father. After the night of the Long Knives in 1934 Wilhelm withdrew from politics and soon realised Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy. In 1941 Wilhelm became head of the house of Hohenzollern upon the death of his father. He sat out the rest of the war in Germany and was captured and put under house arrest afterwards. He died of a heart attack in 1951.