Editing Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (section)

==World War I==
[[File:Statue of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Amsterdam.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Amsterdam]]

Before the First World War began, Wilhelmina visited the powerful German [[Emperor Wilhelm II]]. The emperor thought he could impress the ruler of a relatively small country by telling her, "My guards are seven feet tall and yours are only shoulder-high to them." The queen smiled politely and replied, "Quite true, Your Majesty, your guards are seven feet tall. But when we [[Flood control in the Netherlands#Flooding as military defense|open our dikes]], the water is ten feet deep!"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829617,00.html |title=Caged no more |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=7 December 1962 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214194028/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829617,00.html |archivedate=14 December 2008}}</ref> She was very wary of a German attack, especially in the beginning. Partly due to her political influence, the Netherlands remained neutral during [[World War I]]. However, the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] included the Netherlands in their blockade of Germany, intercepting all Dutch ships and severely restricting Dutch imports to ensure that [[goods]] could not be passed on to Germany. Furthermore, the [[Russian Revolution]] by the [[Bolsheviks]] in 1917 cost the queen almost 20% of her [[financial assets]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Being a woman, Wilhelmina could not be the supreme commander {{why|date=July 2024}}, but still used every opportunity she had to inspect the Crown forces. She appeared without prior notice on many occasions to see reality instead of a prepared show. She wanted a small but well-trained and equipped army and was very unhappy with most of her governments, which were always eager to cut the military [[budget]]. On 6 September 1916 Wilhelmina was aboard the Dutch submarine [[HNLMS O 3|''O 3'']] while it performed underwater exercises.<ref name="HGJune2013">{{cite magazine |last=Horneman |first=Gerard |date=June 2013 |title=Koningin Wilhelmina en de onderzeedienst.|url=https://www.klaarvooronderwater.nl/kvo/Kvo-124.pdf |magazine=Klaar Voor Onderwater |location=Den Helder |publisher=Onderzeedienst Reünistenvereniging |issue=124|volume=36 |pages=13–17 |language=Dutch}}</ref> This made Wilhemina the second head of state, after the American president [[Theodore Roosevelt]] who was the first, to sail and dive aboard a submarine.<ref name="HGJune2013" /> She was also the first woman to go underwater aboard a submarine.<ref name="HGJune2013" /> In June 1917, Wilhelmina returned from a two-day visit to [[Zaltbommel]] on the [[Houten train accident|train that derailed at Houten]], but remained unharmed and helped to take care of the injured.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.oudhouten.nl/recente-tijd/ontsporing-koninklijke-trein/ |title=Ontsporing koninklijke trein |trans-title=Royal train derailment |publisher=Oudhouten |language=nl}}</ref>

Civil unrest gripped the Netherlands after the war, spurred by the end of the Russian Empire. Instead of a violent revolution, Socialist leader [[Pieter Jelles Troelstra]] wanted to abolish the existing government and the monarchy by winning control of [[States General of the Netherlands|Parliament]] in an election with the support of the working class.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} However, Wilhelmina's popularity helped restore confidence in the government. She brought about a mass show of support by riding alongside her daughter through the crowds in an open carriage.

At the end of World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands, where he was granted [[political asylum]], partly owing to his [[Prince of Orange|familial links]] with the royal family. In response to Allied efforts to get their hands on the deposed Kaiser, Wilhelmina called the Allies' ambassadors to her presence and lectured them on the [[Rights of asylum seekers|rights of asylum]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762871,00.html |title=Worried Queen |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=27 November 1939 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308061643/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762871,00.html |archivedate=8 March 2008}}</ref>