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 der Grosse with her sister ships. She was reactivated on 31 July 1911 and assigned to the III Squadron during the annual fleet exercises, then returned on 15 September to the Reserve Division. She remained there for the rest of her peacetime career. As a result of the outbreak of World War I, "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron on 5 August 1914. The ships were prepared for war very slowly, and were not ready for service in the North Sea until the end of August. They were initially