Figure 1.--Prince Wilhelm was photographed here with his mother wearing a white sailor suit and wide brimmed hat. He looks to be about 5 years old which would make it about 1863-64.

Wilhelm as a boy also wore sailor suits. We have one image of him at about 5 years of age waearing a plain longpants sailor suit without detiling and a wide a wide-brimmed hat. It would have been about 1864. He looks to have just been breached. The sailor suit Prince Wilhelm wears looks rather like the sailor suit his uncle Bertie wore in the famous Winterhalter portrait. We do not know how commonly he wore sailor suits. Nor do we know to what age he wore sailor suits. At the time Prussia had virtually no navy. We wonder if he wire the sailor suits more when he visited his English relatives than back at home in Prussia. We know that sailor suits became almost de regur for the royalty of the German states, but it does not seem to have been that common in the early 1860s. As Kaiser, Wilhelm became a major proponent of the German naval building program. One wonders if wearing sailor suits was one factor in building his rather un-Prussian interest in naval affairs.

Information

Wilhelm as a boy also wore sailor suits. We have, however, only limited information on his sailor suits at this time. We know that Wilhelm wore sailors suits from a very early age and as a younger boy wore them quite commonly.

Suits

We notice Wilhelm at a very young age wearing sailor suits. The first portrait we know of shows Wilhelm at about age 2, probably in 1861 wearing what looks like a knickers sailor suit with stripped stockings. This shows that Wilhelm was breached at a very young age. We note another portrait of Wilhelm about 4-5 years of age wearing a plain long pants sailor suit without detiling and a large saucer-type sailor cap (figure 1). He is with his mother and would have been about 1863-64. The sailor suit Prince Wilhelm wears looks rather like the sailor suit his Uncle Bertie wore in the famous Winterhalter portrait.

Extent

We do not know how commonly he wore sailor suits. The photographic record shows him wearing them quite commonly. Nor do we know to what age he wore sailor suits. The images we have found shows him wearing them only as a younger boy. His contemporary English cousins, Princes Eddy and George, appear to have worn sailor suits until they were 11-12 years of age and began training as naval cadets. We do not know if Prince Wilhem wore sailor suits to this age.

German Fashions

At the time Prussia had virtually no navy. We wonder if he wore the sailor suits more when he visited his English relatives than back at home in Prussia. We know that sailor suits became almost de regur for the royalty of the German states, but it does not seem to have been that common in the early 1860s. Certainly Prince Wilhelm wearing sailor suits must have been a factor in popularizing the sailor suit for other German princes and eventually for German boys in general.

Sailor Suits and World War I

As Kaiser, Wilhelm became a major proponent of the German naval building program. One wonders if wearing sailor suits was one factor in building his rather un-Prussian interest in naval affairs. His brother Henry who also wore sailor suits made a career in the German navy. Of course, Princes Wilhelm and Henry did not just wear sailor suits, they were regularly taken to England to visit their Grandmama Queen Victoria. Often these visits occassioned trips to Portsmouth or other ports where they would see British naval vessels and the importance of Britain and their its navy much have been pressed upon them. Kaiser Wilhelm was only too willing to accept Admiral Tripitz argument about the value of a German navy, despite the considerable cost. The Kaiser even encouraged the Austrians to expand their fleet. His friend Archduke Franz Ferdinand was also struck by the importance of a navy. This was a major departure for Germany (formerly Prussia). Historically this is of considerable importance because it was on of the major factors which chnged the mind set of the British people toward Germany, culminating in Britain entering World War I to aid France--its historical enemy.

Created: June 26, 2002
Last updated: 10:37 PM 11/8/2004