‘The remarkable old man must have outsized human strengths to endure these physical efforts and emotions’: Wilhelm in Berlin

Berlin became the capital of the new German Empire in 1871, but did the Hohenzollern monarchy follow suit? Historians have answered this question negatively: only with the accession of Wilhelm II in 1888 was an imperial court developed, suggesting that Wilhelm I had failed to do so. This chapter argues differently: while the first Kaiser did not develop an imperial court, he did stage larger ceremonial events that befitted his new imperial role and his understanding of the German Empire. This chapter shows, firstly, that Wilhelm used entry parades to stage himself as a victorious monarch returning to his capital, carefully including and appealing to the other German states as well. Secondly, Wilhelm used the capital as backdrop to stage his monarchical jubilees, such as his golden wedding anniversary, silver jubilee as king of Prussia, and ninetieth birthday, each of which was tailored to his imperial role. Thirdly, Wilhelm’s demise in his palace at Unter den Linden was a public affair, and his funeral was deliberately staged as a reversed entry parade. Wilhelm thus gradually expanded the ceremonial in Germany’s capital to accommodate his role as German emperor and set the stage for his two successors.