William and his eldest boy are fondly devoted to each other.  To the crown prince, his father is in every sense of the word “William second to none;” while the kaiser himself is entirely wrapped up in his heir.  For the last few years the emperor has given every spare moment that he could snatch away from his multifarious occupations to the task of instilling his ideas and views into the crown prince.  In talking and reasoning with him, he has treated the lad as far older than his years, has discussed with him, in fact, as if he were a man; and it is due to this that Germany’s future emperor is at the present moment remarkably mature for his age, and really in a position to view matters with a degree of experience and knowledge that are unrivalled in so young a man.  As a general rule, young people are unwilling to accept the advice of their elders, or to benefit by their experience, convinced that their seniors are behind the spirit of the age, and in no sense of the word up to date.  But with the German crown prince this is different:  he is so imbued with the idea that his father is wiser and better than anyone else in the world, that he is willing and glad to accept the paternal recommendations and to benefit by paternal advice.

Yet with all this the lad is not a prig, nor is he forward or presumptuous.  True, he has a keen sense of his own dignity, but it takes the form of an extreme simplicity, and of an absolute lack of affectation, since he is intelligent enough to realize that his rank and position are sufficiently assured to render it unnecessary that he should call attention thereto either by his manner or by his speech.  He is modest too, very frank, particularly courteous to old people, boyishly chivalrous to women, and firmly convinced that there is no member of the fair sex in the entire world who is so ideally perfect in appearance, as well as in character, as his mother.

I would not for all the world that this description of the crown prince should in any way convey the impression to my readers that he is a milksop or an overgrown child!  Devoted to every form of sport, a splendid gymnast, a clever oarsman, a skilful driver and a bold rider, an excellent shot, he is in every sense of the word a manly young fellow, who, however, has been kept free from all contact with the darker sides of life, and who still retains, therefore, mingled with the experience of a grown man, much of the innocence and freshness of mind of a mere boy.  Indeed, he is a son of whom any father and mother might well be proud!

Fair-haired and blue-eyed, with the down of a blond moustache upon his upper lip, the young prince is a typical Hohenzollern, and resembles his grandfather, Emperor Frederick, more than he does his father.  He is passionately devoted to everything military, and keenly relishes the idea that the six months following the attainment of his majority are to be devoted to military duties at Potsdam, for although he has held a commission of lieutenant of the first regiment of Foot Guards since his tenth year, he is only now about to be called upon to fulfil the duties of his rank with the regiment.