 Although he was of royal blood, his family was relatively obscure and lived a comparatively normal life by royal standards. In 1852, however, George's father was designated the heir presumptive to the childless King Frederick VII of Denmark, and the family became princes and princesses of Denmark. George's siblings were Frederick (who succeeded their father as King of Denmark), Alexandra (who became queen consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom and the mother of King George V), Dagmar (who, as Empress Maria Feodorovna, was consort of Alexander III of Russia and the mother of Tsar Nicholas II), Thyra (who married Prince Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale) and Valdemar.
