sentences:  The Kaiser, who had come to the UK to visit his dying grandmother Queen Victoria (Chamberlain had been the last minister to visit her, a few days before her death), sent a telegram from London to Berlin urging a positive response, yet von Bülow wished to delay negotiations until Britain was more vulnerable, especially from the ongoing war in South Africa.On 18 March, Eckardstein asked Chamberlain to resume alliance negotiations, and although the Colonial Secretary reaffirmed his support, he was unwilling to commit himself, remembering von Bülow's rebuke in 1899.Chamberlain had a lesser role this time, and it was to Lansdowne that Eckardstein gave a proposal by von Bülow.