Narrating Prince Wilhelm of Prussia: Commemorative Biography as Monarchical Politics of Memory

Abstract

For Prince, later king and German Emperor, Wilhelm of Prussia, commemorative biography was a consistent instrument in the exercise of his monarchical role. Originating during his time as heir to the Prussian throne, when it was used in order to overcome political isolation and forge his public persona, the biographies would later serve to defend his monarchical prerogatives and construct his posthumous memory. Rather than a simple chronological telling of his life, the biographies were carefully constructed narratives which sought to represent Wilhelm as the embodiment of bourgeois virtues, dynastic and Prussian characteristics and as lead representative abroad. Contrary to the idea of Wilhelm as passive monarch overruled by Bismarck, the biographies instead demonstrate him to be an active architect of his own public persona.