Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX

Victoria arranged the marriage of her eldest son and heir, the future King Edward VII, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the daughter of Christian IX, which took place on 10 March 1863. Among Edward and Alexandra's six children were King George V and his sister Maud.^[1] Maud would later marry her cousin, the future King Haakon VII of Norway, in 1896.^[b][8]

A son of Christian and brother of Alexandra, Prince William, became King of the Hellenes as George I in 1863 because of his connection with the British Royal Family.^[9] On 27 October 1889, George's son, later Constantine I of Greece, married Princess Sophia of Prussia.^[c][9]

Another daughter of Christian IX, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, married the future Emperor Alexander III of Russia^[11] in October 1866,^[12] taking the religious name Maria Feodorovna.^[11] Between 1881 and 1894, Maria's husband ruled as Russia's sovereign.^[12] Her son, Nicholas II, became Emperor of Russia upon Alexander III's death.^[11] Nicholas married Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, on 26 November 1894, and Alix became his consort, adopting the name Alexandra Feodorovna.^[11]

Other grandchildren of either or both of Victoria and Christian were sovereigns suo jure or consorts of sovereigns, including:

• King Christian X of Denmark, the elder brother of Haakon VII of Norway^[b][8]
• Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, the elder brother of Sophia of Prussia^[c][13]
• Princess Marie of Edinburgh, the eldest daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,^[d] who married King Ferdinand I of Romania^[9]
• Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a daughter of Queen Victoria's youngest daughter Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, who married King Alfonso XIII of Spain^[15]

Family tree of Victoria and Christian IX's sovereign and consort descendants[16][17]

Christian IX Queen Victoria Frederick VIII of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark Edward VII of the United Kingdom George I of Greece Victoria, Princess Royal Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Dagmar of Denmark Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse Christian X of Denmark Haakon VII of Norway Maud of Wales George V of the United Kingdom Andrew of Greece and Denmark Constantine I of Greece Sophia of Prussia Wilhelm II of Germany Marie of Edinburgh Nicholas II of Russia Alix of Hesse Frederik IX of Denmark Olav V of Norway Edward VIII of the United Kingdom George VI of the United Kingdom George II of Greece Alexander of Greece Paul of Greece Helen of Greece and Denmark Carol II of Romania Margrethe II of Denmark Harald V of Norway Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Constantine II of Greece Sofia Michael I of Romania Frederik X of Denmark Charles III of the United Kingdom Felipe VI of Spain

At the start of World War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, six major powers of Europe were divided between two coalitions. On one hand, France, Russia and the United Kingdom formed the Triple Entente. On the other hand, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy formed the Triple Alliance.^[18] During this conflict, George V was King of the United Kingdom.^[1] In addition, during World War I, Nicholas II was Emperor of Russia,^[19] and Wilhelm II was the German emperor.^[20]

Historian Margaret MacMillan has remarked on the close connection between George, Nicholas and Wilhelm. Namely, George's father and Wilhelm's mother were siblings, making George and Wilhelm first cousins.^[e] Additionally, George's mother and Nicholas's mother were sisters from the Danish royal family, making George and Nicholas first cousins.^[f][23]

There are seven current reigning monarchs in Europe who are descended from either Victoria or Christian IX or both. In 2004, while touring Tatoi Palace and the Greek royal cemetery, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece commented of the royals' relations, "So you see, everybody comes from two sides — Denmark, King Christian IX, and Britain, Queen Victoria — and they all sort of criss crossed, I mean us too!" Anne-Marie is a descendant of both Victoria and Christian IX, as was her husband, Constantine II of Greece.^[24]

Multiple reigning European monarchs are descended from Victoria or Christian IX:

• The King of Denmark, Frederik X, is the son of Queen Margrethe II.^[25] Margrethe II is a descendant of both Victoria^[g] and Christian.^[h]
• The King of the United Kingdom, Charles III, is a son of Queen Elizabeth II.^[29] Elizabeth II is a descendant of both Victoria^[i] and Christian.^[j]
• The King of Norway, Harald V, is a descendant of both Victoria^[k] and Christian.^[l]
• The King of Spain, Felipe VI, is also descended from both Victoria^[m] and Christian.^[n]
• The King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is a descendant of Victoria through both his father^[o] and mother.^[p]
• The King of the Belgians, Philippe, is descended from Christian.^[q]
• The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri, is descended from Christian.^[r]

• John William Friso – the most recent common ancestor of all European monarchs that have reigned since World War II
• Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt – the most common recent ancestor of all current European monarchs