Vaughan Grylls LG

Dogs of War

Wilhelm II, last Emperor of Germany, better known as Kaiser Bill, is buried near his dogs in the mausoleum seen here at Castle Doorn in the Netherlands, to which he and his family fled after losing World War 1.

Other than a small band of German royalists, there are few today visiting this curious corner of European history. Kaiser Bill, by most accounts a vain and impetuous man, was responsible perhaps more than any other for World War 1. He spent much of his enforced retirement at Castle Doorn designing fantastical battleships between walking his dogs.

To meet the modern age, I have metamophosed his cemetery into a fantastical spaceship in which his remains and those of his pets can together enjoy a journey without end.