George V death of his grandmother in 1901, George's father ascended the throne as Edward VII, and George was created Prince of Wales. He became king-emperor on his father's death in 1910. George V's reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, and the Indian independence movement, all of which radically changed the political landscape. The Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. As a result of the First World War (1914–1918), the empires of his first cousins Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II training exercises and visits to foreign ports. She was replaced as flagship by the new battleship . After the new dreadnought battleships began entering service in 1908, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" was decommissioned and put into reserve. She was reactivated in 1910 for training ship duties in the Baltic, but was again taken out of service in 1912. With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" and her sisters were brought back into active duty as coastal defense ships in the V Battle Squadron. Her age, coupled with shortages of ship crews, led to her withdrawal