Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm II just before his accession in 1888

Germany. A good cabinet card of the Imperial family titled DAS DEUTSCHE HERRCHERHAUS by Verlag u. Eigenth von A. Tonger, Berlin. The composite group portrait probably dates from early 1888 or just before as it shows the three Emperors that ruled in that year together with Wilhelm II’s son Wilhelm. The three uniformed emperors are from left grandfather William I, father Frederick III [married to Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter], and William II. The Kaiser’s grandfather and father both died early in the year of his own accession. He lived from 1859 until 1941. An unusual and intriguing image.     jul22/1