Their gifted eldest daughter, Vicky, married the Prussian Crown Prince and became German Empress when he ascended the throne as Emperor Frederick III. She was an enthusiastic painter, collector and patron of the arts - and the mother of William II, the last German Emperor, whom she brought up to be half English, half German. During his entire life William was to retain ambivalent feelings for England, a kind of love-hate relationship. The naval armament pushed by William II led to the naval race between England and Germany, one of the main causes of World War I.