Königin Luise was built by AG Vulcan for the North German Lloyd (NDL) line and completed 17 March 1896.

Along with her sister ships Friedrich der Grosse, Barbarossa and Bremen, the Königin Luise worked Australian, Far East, and North Atlantic routes for NDL. On Australian and Far East voyages she used the Suez Canal, and was one of the largest ships regularly using the canal.

At the outbreak of World War I Königin Luise was in port in Germany, thus avoiding internment, and due to the Royal Navy blockade, she was laid up. Following the Armistice, she was allocated as war reparations to the UK, and was surrendered to the UK Shipping Controller on 10 April 1919. She was allocated to the Orient Steam Navigation Company.

In mid 1919, she departed from Devonport, England, carrying Australian troops returning home, including Victoria Cross winner James Park Woods.[2] On 20 October 1919, British troops embarked her (now described as HT Konigin Luise) in India to travel to England. On 8 September 1920, during third London – Australia voyage, she collided at Lisbon with the British steamship Loughborough, which sank." (WIKI) 

"she had to rush to New York by train to take the Hamburg America Line’s S. S. Königin Luise on a 92-day tour of Europe her father booked for her as a graduation present.  This was the Clark’s Ideal Tour “A” to Europe, and was the company’s most expensive offering.  With her friend Helen Henderson (daughter of Jeremiah Henderson and niece of Charles Henderson. She later married Emory Folmar) and their chaperone Miss Willette McMillan (Director of the Normal’s Art Department since 1897), Julia traveled in style with fifteen other tourists from Italy then through Switzerland, Germany, Holland and Belgium, France, and the English Isles.  The group visited Naples, Pompeii, Rome, the Alps, Nice, and rode horses in Ireland.  Julia even ran into Mr. Bashinsky at one of her ports of call before returning to the US on the White Star Line’s RMS Cedric.  She has left three scrapbooks from her trip" (Troy Daily)