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 II Larvik from 10 to 12 December. At 01:30 on 2 January 1901, she was steaming from Danzig to Kiel with "Kaiser Friedrich III" when the latter struck an underwater obstacle. The shock from the collision damaged the ship's boilers and started a fire in the coal bunkers. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" took her sister in tow, although the engines on "Kaiser Friedrich III" were restarted along the way. The ships eventually reached Kiel, where temporary repairs were conducted. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" went into drydock in January 1901 for overhaul and some modernization work. This included the reconstruction of a larger bridge