Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX

The royal descendants of Queen Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901; r. 1837–1901) and of King Christian IX (8 April 1818 – 29 January 1906; r. 1863–1906), Monarchs of the United Kingdom and Denmark, respectively, have become members of multiple European royal families. This was partially achieved by the marriage of Victoria's progeny with Christian's (and vice versa). By the time of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897, Victoria was known as the "Grandmother of Europe".^[1] Christian IX was nicknamed the "Father-in-Law of Europe".^[2]

Painting by William Powell Frith depicting the marriage of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), Queen Victoria's son, with Princess Alexandra of Denmark, King Christian IX's daughter

Victoria and Christian's grandchildren were the monarchs of Denmark, Germany/Prussia, Greece, Norway, Russia and the United Kingdom. Today, the descendants of Victoria and Christian rule over Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Grandchildren

Christian IX in 1898 with his and Queen Victoria's mutual great-grandson Prince Edward of York, later Edward VIII^[a]

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

World War I

See also: Allies of World War I and Central Powers

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]

Later descendants

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]

Contemporary monarchs

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]

Monarchs descended from Queen Victoria

See also: Descendants of Queen Victoria

Sovereign descendants of Queen Victoria. Names of monarchs are bolded.[16][17][44][45][46][47][9]

Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom Edward VII King of the United Kingdom Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom Victoria German Empress Alfred Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha George V King of the United Kingdom Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine[s] Alexandra Feodorovna Empress of Russia[t] Maud Queen of Norway Margaret Crown Princess of Sweden Charles Edward Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Victoria Eugenie Queen of Spain Wilhelm II German Emperor Sophia Queen of the Hellenes Marie Queen of Romania[u] George VI King of the United Kingdom[v] Princess Alice of Battenberg Louise Queen of Sweden Olav V King of Norway Ingrid Queen of Denmark Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Victoria Louise Duchess of Brunswick Carol II King of Romania[w] Maria Queen of Yugoslavia Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark Harald V King of Norway Margrethe II Queen of Denmark Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona Frederica Queen of the Hellenes Paul King of the Hellenes[x] Michael I King of Romania[y] Charles III King of the United Kingdom Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway Frederik X King of Denmark Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden Juan Carlos I King of Spain Sofía Queen of Spain Constantine II King of the Hellenes[z] Peter II King of Yugoslavia[aa] William, Prince of Wales Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland Felipe VI King of Spain Prince George of Wales Leonor, Princess of Asturias

Monarchs descended from King Christian IX

See also: Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

Sovereign descendants of King Christian IX. Names of monarchs are bolded.[17][46][45][47][9][60][61]

Christian IX King of Denmark Frederick VIII King of Denmark Alexandra Queen of the United Kingdom George I King of the Hellenes Maria Feodorovna Empress of Russia Thyra Crown Princess of Hanover Christian X King of Denmark Princess Ingeborg of Denmark Haakon VII King of Norway Maud Queen of Norway George V King of the United Kingdom Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark Constantine I King of the Hellenes Nicholas II Emperor of Russia Ernest Augustus Duke of Brunswick[ab] Frederik IX King of Denmark Astrid Queen of the Belgians Märtha Crown Princess of Norway[ac] Olav V King of Norway George VI King of the United Kingdom[v] Helen Queen Mother of Romania Paul King of the Hellenes[x] Frederica Queen of the Hellenes Margrethe II Queen of Denmark Joséphine-Charlotte Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Albert II King of the Belgians[ad] Harald V King of Norway Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark Michael I King of Romania[ae] Constantine II King of the Hellenes[z] Sofía Queen of Spain Frederik X King of Denmark Henri Grand Duke of Luxembourg Philippe King of the Belgians Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway Charles III King of the United Kingdom Felipe VI King of Spain Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg Crown Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway William, Prince of Wales Leonor, Princess of Asturias Prince Charles of Luxembourg Prince George of Wales

See also

• 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