Theroyal 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 theUnited Kingdom andDenmark, respectively, have become members of multiple Europeanroyal families. This was partially achieved by the marriage ofVictoria's progeny withChristian's (and vice versa). By the time ofher Diamond Jubilee in 1897, Victoria was known as the "Grandmother of Europe".^[1] Christian IX was nicknamed the "Father-in-law of Europe".^[2]

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 are monarchs ofBelgium, Denmark,Luxembourg, Norway,Spain,Sweden and the United Kingdom.

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

A son of Christian and brother of Alexandra, Prince William, becameKing of the Hellenes asGeorge I in 1863 because of his connection with theBritish royal family.^[9] On 27 October 1889, George's son, laterConstantine I of Greece, married PrincessSophia of Prussia.^[c][9]

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

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

• KingChristian X of Denmark, the elder brother of Haakon VII of Norway^[b][8]
• Wilhelm II, German Emperor andKing of Prussia, the elder brother of Sophia of Prussia^[c][13]
• PrincessMarie of Edinburgh, the eldest daughter ofAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,^[d] who married KingFerdinand I of Romania^[9]
• PrincessVictoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a daughter of Queen Victoria's youngest daughterPrincess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, who married KingAlfonso 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 ofWorld War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, sixmajor powers of Europe were divided between two coalitions. On one hand,France, Russia and the United Kingdom formed theTriple Entente. On the other hand,Austria-Hungary, Germany andItaly formed theTriple Alliance.^[18] During this conflict, George V wasKing of the United Kingdom.^[1] In addition, during World War I, Nicholas II was Emperor of Russia,^[19] and Wilhelm II was theGerman emperor.^[20]

HistorianMargaret MacMillan has remarked on the close connection between George, Nicholas and Wilhelm. Namely,George's father andWilhelm's mother were siblings, making George and Wilhelmfirst cousins.^[e] Additionally,George's mother andNicholas's mother were sisters from theDanish 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 touringTatoi 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 a descendant of both Victoria^[g] and Christian.^[h]
• The King of the United Kingdom,Charles III, 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.^[o]
• The King of the Belgians,Philippe, is descended from Christian.^[p]
• The Grand Duke of Luxembourg,Guillaume V, is descended from Christian.^[q]

• John William Friso – the most recent common ancestor of all European monarchs that have reigned from World War II till 2022
• Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt – the most common recent ancestor of all current European monarchs from 2022

• Amalienborg Palace (n.d.)."Frederik VIII 1906-1912". Retrieved1 October 2024.
• Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth P. (1914).Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage. Harrison and Sons. Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Cour grand-ducale (Henri) (n.d.)."H.R.H. the Grand Duke". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Cour grand-ducale (Joséphine-Charlotte) (n.d.)."H.R.H. Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Gibbney, H.J. (1972)."Duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900)".Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 4. Australian National University. Retrieved1 October 2024.
• Kongehuset (Anne-Marie) (n.d.)."HM Queen Anne-Marie". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Kongehuset (Margrethe) (n.d.)."HM Queen Margrethe". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Pearl, Diana (2 August 2016)."Ambulance Driver, Poultry Farm Worker and Exiled Royal: Inside the Fascinating Life of the Late Queen Anne of Romania".People. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Reuters (30 November 1982)."Queen Helen of Rumania, 87; Was Forced Into Exile in '47".The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Swedish Royal Court (Astrid) (n.d.)."Princess Astrid". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Swedish Royal Court (Ingeborg) (n.d.)."Princess Ingeborg". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• The Belgian Monarchy (Albert) (n.d.)."King Albert II". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• The Belgian Monarchy (Philippe) (n.d.)."The King". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• The Royal Danish Collection (George) (n.d.)."Vilhelm (Georg I)". Amalienborg Palace. Retrieved2 October 2024.
• The Royal Danish Collection (Valdemar) (n.d.)."Valdemar". Amalienborg Palace. Retrieved2 October 2024.
• The Royal Family of Serbia (n.d.)."HM Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• The Royal House of Norway (Märtha) (n.d.)."Biography". Retrieved2 October 2024.
• Wilson, Penny (n.d.)."Ernest Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse".Alexander Palace Time Machine. Bob Atchinson. Retrieved2 October 2024.

• Aronson, Theo (6 October 2022).Crowns in Conflict: The Triumph and the Tragedy of European Monarchy 1910–1918. Lume Books.ISBN 978-1-83901-409-3.
• Aronson, Theo (12 November 2020).A Family of Kings. Lume Books.ISBN 978-1-83901-257-0. A book that describes the relationships among the children of King Christian IX.
• Aronson, Theo (12 November 2020).Grandmama of Europe: The Crowned Descendants of Queen Victoria. Lume Books.ISBN 978-1-83901-258-7.
• Gelardi, Julia P. (April 2007).Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria. St. Martin's Publishing Group.ISBN 978-1-4299-0455-1.
• Potts, D M; Potts, W T W (21 October 2011).Queen Victoria's Gene: Haemophilia and the Royal Family. History Press.ISBN 978-0-7524-7196-9.

• Complete list of descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

• European royal families
• Descendants of individuals
• Queen Victoria
• Christian IX of Denmark

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022