Upon recommissioning on 21 October, "Kaiser Friedrich III" was assigned to II Division of I Squadron of the "Heimatflotte" (Home Fleet), which was commanded by "Vizeadmiral" Paul Hoffmann. She took the place of the ironclad , which had been decommissioned the previous day. "Kaiser Friedrich III" became the flagship of II Division, commanded by "Konteradmiral" (Rear Admiral) Wilhelm Büchsel. Before she could actually join her division, "Kaiser Friedrich III" and the aviso were sent to escort the Kaiser's yacht "Hohenzollern" on a trip to Britain for the Kaiser to visit his grandmother, Queen Victoria. The ships left Germany on 17 November and stayed in Dover from 18 to 20 November, before proceeding to Portsmouth on the 20th, remaining there for three days. On their return they stopped in Vlissingen in the Netherlands, from 24 to 29 November, before continuing on to Kiel, where they arrived on 1 December.