Sea trials and modifications lasted more than a year, and once she entered active service in October 1899, the ship became the flagship of Prince Heinrich in I Squadron of the German Heimatflotte (Home Fleet).

I Squadron was primarily occupied with training exercises throughout each year, and also made numerous trips to other European countries, particularly Great Britain and Sweden–Norway.

After returning to service in 1910, Kaiser Friedrich III was placed in the Reserve Formation; she spent the next two years laid up, being activated only for the annual fleet maneuvers.

Parliamentary opposition forced Hollmann to delay until the following year, when Caprivi spoke in favor of the project, noting that Russia's recent naval expansion threatened Germany's Baltic Sea coastline.

Kaiser Friedrich III's powerplant was rated at 13,000 metric horsepower (12,820 ihp; 9,560 kW), which generated a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph).

Close-range defense against torpedo boats was provided by a battery of twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns, all mounted in casemates.

[2] Kaiser Friedrich III's keel was laid on 5 March 1895 at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Wilhelmshaven, under construction number 22.

Of major concern was how the three-shaft arrangement would perform on a ship the size of Kaiser Friedrich III; the preceding Brandenburg class had used two shafts.

The work lasted longer than originally planned, her main battery guns had not yet been delivered, and the ship remained out of service for much of the year.

[4][5][6] Upon recommissioning on 21 October, Kaiser Friedrich III was assigned to II Division of I Squadron of the Heimatflotte (Home Fleet), which was commanded by Vizeadmiral Paul Hoffmann.

Kaiser Friedrich III became the flagship of II Division, commanded by Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Wilhelm Büchsel.

[5] Kaiser Friedrich III finally assumed her role as II Division flagship on 24 January 1900, when Büchsel transferred his flag to the ship.

The next month, they began a cruise into the North Sea on 7 May; during the trip, the ships made stops in Lerwick in Shetland from 12 to 15 May and Bergen, Norway, from 18 to 22 May.

[9] Thereafter, Büchsel became the deputy commander of I Squadron, but he remained aboard Kaiser Friedrich III only briefly before transferring his flag to the ironclad Württemberg.

Konteradmiral Max von Fischel replaced him on 30 September, but Kaiser Friedrich III went into drydock for her annual overhaul shortly thereafter.

[10] On 1 November, Vizeadmiral Prince Heinrich, who had replaced Hoffmann as I Squadron commander, raised his flag aboard Kaiser Friedrich III; the ship held the role as squadron flagship for the next three years, interrupted only during the annual fleet exercises conducted in August and September, when Admiral Hans von Koester, the Generalinspekteur der Marine (Inspector-General of the Navy), commanded the fleet from Kaiser Wilhelm II.

While returning to Kiel on the night of 1–2 April, Kaiser Friedrich III struck an uncharted rock off Kap Arkona, north of the Adlergrund, at around 01:27.

By this time, the crew had raised steam in the remaining boilers, and the ship proceeded at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)[13] to Kiel, which she reached on 3 April.

[13] The investigation found that the nearby lightship—which was used to navigate the channel at night—was 700 meters (2,300 ft) from its assigned location, and there were several uncharted rocks in the area of the accident.

The squadron began a major training cruise on 25 April; that day, while the ships were passing through the Danish straits, there was a serious boiler accident aboard Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, forcing her to turn back for repairs.

Toward the end of the month, Kaiser Friedrich III departed for Britain with Prince Heinrich to represent Germany during the coronation of King Edward VII.

[20] Assigned to the "hostile" force, Kaiser Friedrich III patrolled the Great Belt in the Baltic to prevent the "German" squadron from passing through.

[25] In 1904 Kaiser Friedrich III took part in a training cruise to Britain that included squadron exercises in the northern North Sea and along the Norwegian coast.

On 1 October, the position of deputy commander of I Squadron was recreated, and Kapitän zur See (Captain) Hugo von Pohl was assigned to the role and Kaiser Friedrich III became his flagship.

[29] The ship was recommissioned on 2 August and assigned to III Battle Squadron, serving as the flagship of Vizeadmiral Max Rollmann, who came aboard four days later.

[30] At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kaiser Friedrich III and her sisters were brought back to active service and mobilized as V Battle Squadron.

Instead, V Squadron was to carry the landing force, but this too was cancelled after Heinrich received false reports of British warships having entered the Baltic on 25 September.

Two days later, the fleet arrived off Gotland to show the flag, and was back in Kiel by 30 December, having failed to locate any Russian vessels.

Shortages of trained crews in the High Seas Fleet, and the risk of operating older ships in wartime, necessitated the deactivation of Kaiser Friedrich III and her sisters.

Kaiser Friedrich III was stricken from the navy list on 6 December 1919 and sold to a ship breaking firm based in Berlin.