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
King George V-class battleship (1939) of Hamamatsu on 29 July and 30 July 1945. "Duke of York" and "Anson" were also dispatched to the Pacific, but arrived too late to participate in hostilities. On 15 August "Duke of York" and "Anson "accepted the surrender of Japanese forces occupying Hong Kong and along with "King George V" were present for the official Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. Following the end of World War II, the ships were phased out of service and by 1957 all of the ships had been sold off for scrap, a process that was completed by 1958. The "King George V" class