When the war ended in 1918, many monarchies collapsed. Was it necessary for Wilhelm II to go to the Netherlands where the queen gave him refuge?
Wilhelm II had little choice but to flee after his abdication and the Netherlands was the nearest neutral country to hand. The Allied Powers were gunning for him and would likely have put immense pressure on the Weimar Republic to hand him over as the main condition for an official peace treaty. They meant to put him on trial as a war criminal. The Netherlands, as a strictly neutral country, was under no similar obligation to do so. He knew he would be safe there.
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