Doorn House – A home for an exiled Emperor and Empress

After Emperor Wilhelm II’s abdication in 1918, he and his wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, went into exile in the Netherlands where he finally settled in this manor house in Doorn, called Huis Doorn.

Wilhelm was married to Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein until her death in 1921. She was the daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She died at Huis Doorn but was not buried there. She is buried in the Antique Temple in Potsdam.

Wilhelm later married Hermine Reuss of Greiz in 1922. She had been widowed in 1920 and had five children by her first husband, Prince Johann George Ludwig Ferdinand August von Schoenaich-Carolath.

Wilhelm and Hermine did not have children, which was not strange considering the age difference. Wilhelm was 63 and Hermine only 34. They married at Huis Doorn and lived there. Wilhelm died there in 1941.

The Mausoleum where Wilhelm II is buried.

At the time of Wilhelm’s death, the Netherlands was occupied by the Nazi’s. Huis Doorn was being guarded by German soldiers. Hitler had apparently intended for his body to be brought back to Berlin for burial. However, Wilhelm’s wishes were respected and he was buried in a mausoleum on the grounds of Huis Doorn. Not all his wishes were respected however as swastika’s and other Nazi symbols were present at the burial.

Hermine returned to Germany after Wilhelm’s death. She fled from the Russian army in 1945. She was later held under house arrest and imprisoned in the Paulinenhof Internment Camp. She died suddenly in Frankfurt on 7 August 1947 while under guard. Like Wilhelm’s first wife she is buried in the Antique Temple in Potsdam.