Prussia's last King and Germany's last Kaiser was born in Potsdam in 1859, the son of Prince Frederick of Prussia and Princess Vicky, Queen Victoria's eldest child. William was born with a withered arm and suffered from cerebral palsy. Believed mad by some, eccentric by others, he possessed a ferocious temper, was rumoured to have sired numerous illegitimate children (and suspected of homosexual affairs) and yet appeared a prig. A power grabber who built a fleet targeted at Britain, he nevertheless idolised Queen Victoria who, he claimed, died in his arms.