Want to learn the history of Germany but don’t want to spend years pouring over books? We have the solution for you!
In our bite-sized history lessons, you can learn important parts of Germany’s long, varied and super interesting history.
In this history lesson, we’re talking about what happened to all the German Kings when Germany unified in 1871.
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Prior to unification, what is now Germany was a collection of various states and territories, each ruled by its own monarch, noble, or governing body. Notable among these were the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Saxony, and the Kingdom of Württemberg, along with a number of grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities.
So what happened to all the kings?
You’ll have to watch the following video for all the answers… but here’s a spoiler. They stayed around for a little longer.
Watch the video below for this interesting (and brief) overview of Germany’s history.
So they maintained substantial powers within their own regions, such as the control of local government, education, and religious affairs, as well as the command of their own military units in times of peace. However, they were all subordinate to the emperor in matters of foreign policy and united national military command.
This system lasted until the end of World War I, when the November Revolution of 1918 resulted in the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the monarchies of the individual German states.
The subsequent establishment of the Weimar Republic led to the formal end of the German monarchy as a political system, and Germany became a federal parliamentary republic. Kings have not returned to Germany since.
Want to learn more about Germany’s history? Find our lesson about the first king of Germany here and learn more about when Germany became a country here. You can find our next history lesson here about Charlemagne who some people consider the first German King. You can also find all our history lessons here.
