Joining The Fray

At the turn of the 20th century, Cowes Week hosted an impressive gathering of royalty thanks to King Edward VII’s long-term patronage of the event, as Prince of Wales and then Monarch. European monarchs, princes and aristocrats joined the assembled fleet in Cowes Roads in their steam yachts and racing yachts, thereby turning Cowes Week into one of the Continent’s greatest social events of the year.

The visiting Royal Yachts included Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Hohenzollern, King Alphonso XIII’s Giralda and Tsar Nicholas II’s Standart. The site of their Royal Barges conveying dignitaries ashore and across to other yachts became a familiar sight during Cowes Week. Wilhelm II raced in a series of yachts called Meteor, while Alphonso XIII competed in Hispania and Tonino.

Interestingly, the European Monarchs competed on the regatta circuit for different reasons. King Edward VII and King Alphonso XIII enjoyed the sport of yachting and fully appreciated the benefits of their involvement for their respective nation’s boatbuilding industries. In contrast, Kaiser Wilhelm II was motivated by the opportunity to generate support among the German people for the expansion of the nation’s navy, as Prince Henry of Prussia once explained to the renowned yachting author Brooke Heckstall-Smith, “The Germans are not a yachting nation. They were not really, until lately, a seafaring nation. It is only my brother’s [Wilhelm II] interest in yachting that causes our people to go in for the sport. He wishes them to take to yachting and make Keil Week a sort of Cowes Week in order to encourage them to take an interest in the navy.” To the Kaiser’s credit, his involvement did help encourage the development of Germany’s boatbuilding industry enabling him to commission the German designed, built and manned schooner Meteor IV. Launched in 1909 she represented a significant milestone in the Kaiser’s involvement in yachting which began in 1892 when he purchased the British designed, built and manned Meteor which had originally been launched as Thistle to compete for the America’s Cup. To have achieved such a feat in just 17 years was a remarkable achievement.

The Kaiser also set himself the objective of setting up a regatta to rival the prestige of Cowes Week to encourage more Germans to take up yachting. Despite its domestic success, Keil Week never managed to replicate the casual garden party atmosphere of Cowes Week’s social events. The combination of its military atmosphere, official dinners, presentations, and receptions created a significantly more formal event that never eclipsed the appeal of Cowes Week, which continued to be regarded as Europe’s premier yachting event.