At the return of the troops in 1871 his displeasure with Friedrich had been very apparent. It had not grown less with the course of years. Ludwig II. suffered more deeply under the supremacy of Prussia than any of the other princes because his kingdom was larger than that of any other prince, and because he was morbid and his pride wounded. While his Ministers in 1870-71 were spinning out the negotiations respecting the federation of the German States, Friedrich had uttered words of anger against Bavaria of which its King had not remained in ignorance. He looked upon the Crown Prince's annual visit to his kingdom as an insult; and he was possessed by the morbid conviction that the latter, when Emperor, would drive him out of his dominions. "It is not pleasant to be swallowed up," he often repeated. Wilhelm I. had, in 1872, sent him the Order of the Black Eagle; but the envoy conveying it had been unable to gain an audience of the King, despite the earnest representations of the Prussian Minister at Munich. At last, however, Ludwig was persuaded to send a letter of thanks. He wrote that "it would give him pleasure to receive the Emperor's Order at a later date, when he was feeling less fatigued; for the time being he was over-tired and could not fix any day"! Still, he by no means cherished unfriendly feelings towards the old Emperor. During the last years of his life he mentioned the attempts to assassinate the latter as one of the reasons for his own distaste for mixing with the world. And when Wilhelm, accompanied by the Grand Duchess of Baden, visited Bayreuth, in order to be present at a Wagner festival, he sent his confidential secretary to arrange everything in as pleasant a manner as possible for him and his daughter. Wilhelm, on his side, had only friendly feelings towards Ludwig. He repeatedly expressed his regret that the King of Bavaria withdrew so much from the world; and he never forgot the services he had done him and his country. But the King of Prussia was three times the age of the King of Bavaria; he was, moreover, a soldier from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and of any real understanding between them there could be little possibility, since Ludwig by no means shared the enthusiasm which was generally felt at the reconstitution of the German Empire, and was weary of the continued praise at his attitude in the years 1870-71. He was a Bavarian before all else. Often he expressed himself: "I am honoured only by the colours of my country."