Daily Telegraph Affair

The Daily Telegraph Affair (German: Daily-Telegraph-Affäre) was the scandal that followed the publication by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph in October 1908 of an article that included a series of impolitic comments by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. He had thought that his remarks would improve German–British relations, but they turned out to be a major diplomatic blunder that worsened relations and badly hurt the Kaiser's reputation. The episode had a considerably greater impact in Germany than in Britain.

The article was based on notes taken by British Colonel Edward Stuart-Wortley during conversations with Wilhelm in 1907. The Daily Telegraph wrote them up in the form of an interview and sent a copy to Wilhelm for his approval. Through a series of missteps made by the German chancellor and the Foreign Office, the interview was published without proper review. It raised ire in both Britain and Germany primarily over three issues: Wilhelm's statement that he was among a minority of Germans friendly to Britain; that he had sent a military plan to Queen Victoria during the Boer War which the British Army had used successfully during its campaign; and that Germany's fleet buildup was directed not against Britain but Japan.

In Germany, the article led to unprecedented criticism of the Kaiser in the press and the Reichstag. Wilhelm fell into a serious bout of depression, stepped back from his attempt at "personal rule" and played little role in German foreign affairs for the rest of his reign. No institutional changes were made that would have restricted the Kaiser's powers to prevent another such scandal in the future.