This paper describes the events leading up to the birth of Kaiser William II in 1859. There is a full description of the clinical aspects of his breech delivery that resulted in an Erb-Duchenne palsy. The later physical and psychological effects of his paralysed left arm are discussed fully, as are the comments about Dr Eduard Arnold Martin (1799–1875), the obstetrician who delivered him.
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References
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BolithoH. ed. Letters of Queen Victoria from the Archives of the House of Brandenburg-Prussia.Newhaven: Yale University Press1938: 5.
2.
Ibid.: p. 16.
3.
Ibid.: p. 22.
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Ibid.: p. 57.
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Ibid.: p. 61.
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Ibid.: p. 93.
7.
MacAlpineI, HunterR. George III and the Mad Business.London: Penguin,1969.
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Report by Dr Eduard Martin about the Delivery of Kaiser William II. West Berlin, Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, 1859: 196.
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WhittleT. The Last Kaiser.New York: Times Books,1977: 12.
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MillerH. The Principles and Practice of Obstetrics.Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lee,1858: 467–84.
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DoderleinGErlebtes und Geschichten aus der Deutschen Gynakologie in Alter Zeit.Munchen: JF Lehmanns Verlag,1974: 23–9.
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Letter from Dr August Martin to Kaiser William II, West Berlin.Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, 1931.
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FulfordR. ed. Dearest Mama: Letters between Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, 1861-1864.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,1969: 203–4.
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Ibid.: p. 216.
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WilliamII. My Early Life.New York: George H. Doran,1926: 36.
