2011 Books – George, Nicholas and Wilhelm

George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I by Miranda Carter was an informative read, however, I have a few things that bothered me about the book. I’ll get those out of the way before I hit on the good stuff.

First, the cramming of notes in the back of the book, with no corresponding footnote in the main body of text drove me nuts. It’s really hard to check references when you don’t really know what is being referenced by whom, and in a book that is filled with quote from other books, personal diaries and memoirs, this should have been done more thoughtfully.

Second, some of the references used are questionable. I cannot speak for anything in regards to King George or Kaiser Wilhelm as I have not studied them. However, having read numerous books on Tsar Nicholas II, I can say that a couple of the sources she cites aren’t the most reliable (e.g. things said to save one’s own reputation or to make some money off of the dead and things of that sort).

Third, the people were spoken about using family nicknames, not their proper names. I found this both disrespectful and confusing – as many of the descendents of Queen Victoria had the same nicknames (Alix, Georgy, Vicky, Willy, etc). If quoting personal notes where they were signed with the more familial “Nicky” as opposed to “Nicholas” that would have been fine. But often there were two Vickys or two Alixs and you didn’t know which was which. Using their proper names and titles would have cut down on the confusion.

Finally, not all things were taken into consideration. Again, I speak only about what I know of the Tsar. Very little was mentioned about the influence his wife and Rasputin had on his decisions. Knowing this was somewhat passed over in the case of the Tsar, it leaves me wondering how much was passed over regarding the King and the Kaiser.

That being said, the book was interesting – and has piqued my interest enough to make me want to research the King and the Kaiser. The reason I found the book so interesting is that it doesn’t focus on the historicity itself, but rather on the people.

The three men were cousins. All were raised in rather isolated environments. George was quiet, shy and not too bright. Wilhelm was outspoken, devious and somewhat mad. Nicholas was quiet, well liked, educated (though in limited areas), but the most isolated of them all.

The most interesting character was Wilhelm. When he was born, he wasn’t breathing and it took several seconds to get him to breathe. Also, in the rush to get him out of the womb (he was in the breech position) before he died (and perhaps his mother), he suffered nerve damage to one of his arms. There are reports from the doctors that perhaps Wilhelm, due to the lack of oxygen at his birth, suffered some brain damage and “would never be right.” His injured arm wouldn’t grow as it should and was basically useless.

Early on in his life, he and his mother were quite close. It was even hinted at that there was some sort of Oedipal complex going on. However, when “Willy” finished school, he went off into the army and as the years went on, a riff that had come between himself and his mother grew more bitter – to the point where he loathed her.

He seemed to have a dual nature: the German side that wanted big ships, a big army, and to expand the empire. And the British side that wanted to please his Grandmama (Queen Victoria) and be a part of that monarchy as well. But the Germans and the British didn’t trust each other (even those who were related by blood), and so throughout Wilhelm’s life he was at odds with wanting to crush the British Empire but at the same time be it’s staunchest ally.

As for the parts about George, I was disappointed. Carter spent more time talking about George’s father King Edward VII than she did about George. Other than finding out that he wasn’t that bright, there wasn’t a lot of information given about his personal life. He was closer to Nicholas (they looked like twins) than to Wilhelm; and where most people couldn’t tolerate Wilhelm, he had more ease with him than anyone, especially his father.

I think, other than the fact that George wasn’t well-educated, the other interesting fact was that at the onset of WWI, the hatred for anything German in Britain was so overwhelming that George changed the last name of the family to Windsor – just made it up, there you go, we no longer have any German blood in us.

There wasn’t really anything new about Nicholas that I hadn’t read in other books. He was the only one of the three with true power, but because of his isolation (from childhood, then later self-imposed due to his wife and son both in frail health) he relied on others, usually the “wrong sort” to keep him informed.

Of course the most significant event (outside of the war itself) that could have bolstered either King George or Kaiser Wilhelm was their refusal to grant Tsar Nicholas and his family asylum after the revolution in Russia – thus leading to the execution of the Tsar and his entire family. George had originally granted the request for sanctuary, but then rescinded when he was told he might lose his own crown over the deal – all of which was nonsense.

Anyway, the way Carter weaves their stories together, their family lives, their private vs public lives, is very well done. This would make a good book to start off any real research into the lives of these three men… well, not so much George, but his father Edward. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it as an authority on the topic due to what I mentioned in my opening. Good place to start, but as with other historical books, always read what others have written and check the notes, facts and sources.