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
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II out with six torpedo tubes, one of which was placed in an above-water swivel mount at the stern, with four submerged on the broadside and one submerged in the bow. The ship's belt armor was thick, and the deck was thick. The conning tower and main battery turrets were protected with of armor plating, and the secondary casemates received of armor protection. "Kaiser Wilhelm II"s keel was laid on 26 October 1896, at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven, under construction number 24. Ordered under the contract name "Ersatz Friedrich der Grosse", to replace the elderly armored frigate , she was