Abdication of Wilhelm II and the Dutch government, however, refused the Allies' requests to extradite him. King George V wrote that his cousin was "the greatest criminal in history", but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". U.S. President Woodrow Wilson also opposed extradition, arguing that punishing Wilhelm would destabilize international order and lose the peace. Wilhelm first settled in Amerongen, where on 28 November he issued a belated statement of abdication of both the Prussian and imperial thrones. He also released his soldiers and officials in both Prussia and the empire from their oaths of loyalty to him. Wilhelm
Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleship active service for a second time. The ships were disarmed by 1916 and transferred to secondary roles. "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" became a torpedo training ship and "Kaiser Wilhelm II" became the headquarters ship for the commander of the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven. The other three ships were used as floating prisons. In 1917, "Kaiser Friedrich III" was transferred to barracks ship duties in Flensburg. All of the ships, with the exception of "Kaiser Wilhelm II", were stricken from the navy register on 6 December 1919 and sold for scrapping. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" followed on 17 March 1921. By