Wilhelm II, German Emperor despite appeals from the Allies. King George V wrote that he looked on his cousin as "the greatest criminal in history", but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". President Woodrow Wilson of the United States opposed extradition, arguing that prosecuting 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 from both the Prussian and imperial thrones, thus formally ending the Hohenzollerns' 400-year rule over Prussia. Accepting the reality that he had lost both of his crowns for good, he
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse exercises, "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" won the Kaiser's "Schiesspreis" (Shooting Prize) for excellent gunnery in the I Squadron. In October, the ship was reassigned to the I Division of the II Squadron. In early December, the I and II Squadrons went on their regular winter cruise, this time to Danzig, where they arrived on 12 December. On the return trip to Kiel, the fleet conducted tactical exercises. Over the winter of 1906–07, "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" underwent a major overhaul in Kiel, which was completed by the end of April. By this time, the newest s were coming into service;