The High Seas Fleet saw little significant activity for the rest of 1917 and into mid-1918, apart from routine training exercises and guard duties in the German Bight.
In January 1918, Kronprinz was renamed Kronprinz Wilhelm in honor of Crown Prince William.
The ships, less Markgraf, which was dry-docked for maintenance, took part in an abortive attempt to intercept a British convoy to Norway in late April.
The ships suffered a series of accidents in 1918, including groundings, that required dry-docking for repairs.
Scheer, now the head of the Seekriegsleitung (Naval Warfare Command), and Admiral Franz von Hipper, the fleet commander, planned an operation to seek a final battle with the Grand Fleet in October 1918, by which time the war had turned decisively against Germany.
When rumors of the plan began to circulate among the fleet's crews, sailors began to desert in large numbers, leading to the  Wilhelmshaven mutiny, which forced Scheer and Hipper to cancel the operation.

Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, the majority of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, was interned in the British naval base at Scapa Flow.
The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty.
It became apparent to Reuter that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty.
Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered his ships be sunk.
On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers; at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships.
Of the four ships, Kronprinz was the first to sink in the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow.
She slipped beneath the waters of Scapa Flow at 13:15.
Grosser Kurfürst followed 15 minutes later at 13:30.
König sank at approximately 14:00, but Markgraf did not sink until 16:45; she was one of the last capital ships to be successfully scuttled—only the battlecruiser Hindenburg sank afterwards, at 17:00.

Grosser Kurfürst was eventually raised, on 29 April 1938.
The ship was towed to Rosyth, where she was broken up for scrap metal.
The other three ships remain on the sea floor, and were sold to Britain in 1962.
The wrecks have been used as sources of low-background steel, which has occasionally been removed for use in scientific devices.
The vessels are popular diving sites, and in 2017, marine archaeologists from the Orkney Research Center for Archaeology conducted extensive surveys of the wrecks.
A diving contractor, Tommy Clark, came to own the three battleships and the light cruiser Karlsruhe in 1981, which he later placed for sale in 2019.
König, Kronprinz, and Markgraf were all purchased by a Middle Eastern company.
The High Seas Fleet saw little significant activity for the rest of 1917 and into mid-1918, apart from routine training exercises and guard duties in the German Bight. In January 1918, Kronprinz was renamed Kronprinz Wilhelm in honor of Crown Prince William. The ships, less Markgraf, which was dry-docked for maintenance, took part in an abortive attempt to intercept a British convoy to Norway in late April. The ships suffered a series of accidents in 1918, including groundings, that required dry-docking for repairs. Scheer, now the head of the Seekriegsleitung (Naval Warfare Command), and Admiral Franz von Hipper, the fleet commander, planned an operation to seek a final battle with the Grand Fleet in October 1918, by which time the war had turned decisively against Germany. When rumors of the plan began to circulate among the fleet's crews, sailors began to desert in large numbers, leading to the  Wilhelmshaven mutiny, which forced Scheer and Hipper to cancel the operation.
Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, the majority of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, was interned in the British naval base at Scapa Flow. The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty. It became apparent to Reuter that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered his ships be sunk. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers; at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships. Of the four ships, Kronprinz was the first to sink in the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. She slipped beneath the waters of Scapa Flow at 13:15. Grosser Kurfürst followed 15 minutes later at 13:30. König sank at approximately 14:00, but Markgraf did not sink until 16:45; she was one of the last capital ships to be successfully scuttled—only the battlecruiser Hindenburg sank afterwards, at 17:00.
Grosser Kurfürst was eventually raised, on 29 April 1938. The ship was towed to Rosyth, where she was broken up for scrap metal. The other three ships remain on the sea floor, and were sold to Britain in 1962. The wrecks have been used as sources of low-background steel, which has occasionally been removed for use in scientific devices. The vessels are popular diving sites, and in 2017, marine archaeologists from the Orkney Research Center for Archaeology conducted extensive surveys of the wrecks. A diving contractor, Tommy Clark, came to own the three battleships and the light cruiser Karlsruhe in 1981, which he later placed for sale in 2019. König, Kronprinz, and Markgraf were all purchased by a Middle Eastern company.
König-class battleship