I’m reading King Kaiser Tsar recommended by a fellow Doper; sorry, I disremember your name.
The author, Catrine Clay is quite intent on making the Kaiser Wilhelm II out to be homosexual. A serious accusation at the time; there were trials of some of his associates and serious consequences.
While he did largely ignore his wife and spend time with the army mess and various officers, he managed to find time to father six sons and a daughter.
I think the “Supreme Warlord” simply enjoyed the martial company and praises to offset his handicapped arm and lack of real military experience.
I’ve brought up another question; the same book, the future George V as the Prince of Wales was sent to a career in the Royal Navy. Why weren’t Wilhelm and Nicholas II given true military experience? They both failed miserably in the Second World War.
Wilhelm would have had a tough time in the military given his crippled and essentially useless arm. As for Nicky, he was interested in maneuvers of another sort.
Besides, they wouldn’t have done well in the Second World War anyway, as Wilhelm was probably too old to even get on a horse and Nicholas was dead.
Wilhelm II was certainly “not quite right”. But I have seen no serious suggestions he was gay.
Can I do a typo, or can i? 
There’s still hope for them in World War Z
Jesus Christ, I’m not going to live this down, am I?
Historians mostly agree the reason Nicholas wasn’t given a senior military post (his highest rank was colonel) was because his father though Nicholas was too weak willed for any real post. In fact, Alexander III referred to Nicholas as “girlie” and told a minister that “the Grand Duke (Nicholas) is a dunce!”
The trials referred to are collectively referred to as the “Eulenburg affair”, because they focused around accusations that Phillip of Eulenburg, one of the advisors to William II, was having a homosexual affair with Kuno von Moltke, the military commander of Berlin.
Historians have concluded that the Kaiser’s relationship with Eulenberg was that of a good friend only. The subsequent scandal about Eulenberg resulted in his being expelled from the Kaiser’s inner circle as I recall.
There were some odd things about the Kaiser (and his court) though. For one thing, one of the older generals (who was chief of the military court) used to perform at parties and such, dancing while dressed in a ballet dancer’s tutu. Apparently Wilhelm and others thought this was quite entertaining. After the last performance which was acclaimed a great success, the general promptly dropped dead of a heart attack to the consternation of the audience.
They had a bit of a problem extricating him from the tutu for a dignified burial. Rigor mortis and all.
This event is mentioned in Robert Massie’s Dreadnought and in one of Barbara Tuchman’s books.
Clay also mentions it in her book.
I did just want to point out that doesn’t tell you that much about Wilhelm’s sexuality. Prince von Eulenburg himself had eight children. I don’t think Wilhelm was gay, or ever had any sort of gay sex, but pretty much all of the Kaiser’s intimate relationships were with men, not women.
That would jibe with a highly masculinized and militarized culture, which Germany in the wake of Bismarck definitely was.
It was probably expected, and even desired, that males of the ruling and leader class have deeper and more meaningful bonds with other males than with females. In such a culture, it’s better far to be homosocial, or even quietly homosexual, than to be at all attuned to the feminine side of consciousness. The men must run things without question - and who is in a better position to question than an influential woman? In that context, woman is a bringer of weakness and a force of subversion - a threat that must constantly be guarded against.
Ah hell, my uncle was gay, spent about 10 years that I know of after his wife popped out 2 daughters traveling around the country selling little figurines in mall ‘art displays’ or whatever they are calling them nowdays. His traveling companion was a barely legal blond catamite that did the stereotypical mincing little fag routine. They made no bones about being in a relationship.
To be fair, Teutonic humor is not entirely limited to fart jokes. There’s also some Dressing Up. And farting.
My favorite Teutonic joke is Bismarck having sex with a prostitute. She begins to enjoy herself, and climaxes. Bismarck, however one spells his name, demands of her, “Helga! Who is fucking whom?”
That would explain the goofy-ass mustache.
What’s up with German dictators with goofy-ass mustaches, BTW?
Mustaches were de rigeur among men of all social classes during that time period. Because nearly all men wore them, you had to do something unique to yours if you wanted to stand out or make a statement.