Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX

300px|thumb|right|The Marriage of the Prince of Wales painting by William Powell Frith from 1865 seems to be the only existing contemporary painting where Queen Victoria and King Christian IX are depicted together.
The royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX, monarchs of the United Kingdom (1837–1901) and Denmark (1863–1906) respectively, currently occupy the thrones of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of the First World War their grandchildren occupied the thrones of Denmark, Greece, Norway, Germany, Romania, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom. For this reason Victoria was nicknamed the "grandmother of Europe" and Christian IX the "father-in-law of Europe".
==Grandchildren==
=== 19th century ===
Victoria arranged the marriage of her eldest son and heir-apparent, the future Edward VII, to Alexandra of Denmark, the eldest daughter of Christian IX, which took place on 10 March 1863. Among their six children were George V (who was also Emperor of India throughout his reign) and his sister Maud of Wales (who would later marry their cousin Haakon VII of Norway, another grandchild of Christian IX, on 22 July 1896). However these two marriages were not the only unions among and between descendants of Victoria and Christian IX.
The second son of Christian IX, Prince William, became King of Greece as George I shortly after his sister Alexandra's marriage due to this new connection with the British royal family. On 27 October 1889 his son, later Constantine I of Greece, married Sophia of Prussia, a granddaughter of Victoria, forging another union between descendants of the British queen and the Danish king.
In 1865 Christian IX's second daughter, Princess Dagmar, became engaged to Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia, son and heir of Tsar Alexander II. Following the untimely death of her fiancé Dagmar married Nicholas's younger brother, the Tsarevich Alexander, in 1866, taking the Russian name Maria Feodorovna. Between 1881 and 1894 she was empress-consort of Russia. Her son, Nicholas II of Russia, married Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, yet another granddaughter of Queen Victoria, on 26 November 1894, and she became empress-consort as Alexandra Feodorovna.
Other grandchildren became monarchs in their own right or consorts. Christian X of Denmark was the elder brother of Haakon VII of Norway and thus another grandson of Christian IX of Denmark. William II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, was the elder brother of Sophia of Prussia and thus another reigning grandson of Victoria. Lastly, Victoria had two more granddaughters who became queens: Marie of Edinburgh, who married Ferdinand I of Romania, and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, who married Alfonso XIII of Spain.
Christian IX was therefore the grandfather of an emperor and two kings who all married granddaughters of Victoria, one of whom (Maud of Wales) was also a granddaughter of Christian IX. In total five of his grandsons were reigning sovereigns.
Victoria, meanwhile, was the grandmother of an emperor, a king-emperor, four queens consort and an empress consort.
===First World War===
During the First World War (1914–1918) many monarchs of countries from both sides were closely related owing to their descent from either Queen Victoria, Christian IX or both. The most commonly cited example is the fact that Constantine I of Greece and Nicholas II of Russia (through Christian IX), as well as Nicholas' wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, and Wilhelm II of Germany (through Victoria) were all first cousins of George V of the United Kingdom. Shortly before the end of the war, Nicholas, his wife and children were executed by the Bolsheviks.
Other countries who fought against Germany in addition to Russia and the United Kingdom were Romania, whose queen-consort, Marie, wife of Ferdinand I, was a cousin of Wilhelm II, and Greece, whose queen-consort, Sophia, wife of Constantine I, was Wilhelm II's sister.
Other first cousins of George V, whose countries were neutral during the war, were Christian X of Denmark, Victoria Eugenie of Spain (queen-consort of Alfonso XIII) and Haakon VII of Norway (who was also George's brother-in-law via his marriage to George's sister, Maud). Hugo Bates
=== Family tree of sovereign and consort grandchildren ===
The family tree below shows the relationships between the monarch grandchildren of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX.
== Present-day reigning descendants ==
The unions between descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX did not end with the First World War, despite the overthrows of both the German and Russian monarchies (along with the House of Habsburg in Austria-Hungary). On the contrary, nearly all European reigning kings and queens today are most closely related through their descent from Victoria, Christian or both.
King Charles III of the United Kingdom, King Harald V of Norway, King Frederik X of Denmark and King Felipe VI of Spain are all descended from both Queen Victoria and King Christian IX. The first two monarchs are descendants of the aforementioned union between Alexandra of Denmark (daughter of King Christian IX) and Edward VII (son of Queen Victoria). Harald V of Norway is actually descended from Christian IX three ways, twice through his father and once through his mother. Frederik X of Denmark is descended once each from Victoria and Christian IX, through his mother, Queen Margrethe II. Felipe VI is descended from Victoria three ways and Christian IX twice. His father, King Juan Carlos I, is descended from Victoria and not Christian IX, while Juan Carlos' consort, Queen Sofía, is twice a descendant of Victoria and twice a great-great-granddaughter of Christian IX. Charles III is descended from both Christian IX and Queen Victoria twice, as his parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, were descendants of both monarchs.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is descended from Victoria twice, his parents being second cousins because they were both great-grandchildren of Victoria. In addition Carl XVI Gustaf also descends on his maternal side from Victoria's half-sister Feodora. Carl XVI Gustaf is not a descendant of Christian IX; however he descends on his maternal side from the parents of Christian IX through Christian IX's elder brother, Friedrich.
Conversely, Philippe, King of the Belgians is descended from King Christian IX but not Queen Victoria, although he is a descendant of Victoria's maternal uncle (as well as her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha's paternal uncle), Leopold I, King of the Belgians. Philippe's father, King Albert II, who abdicated in the summer of 2013, is a first cousin to Harald V of Norway through their grandfather Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland, married to Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, a granddaughter of Christian IX.
To summarize:
* The Kings of Norway, Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom are descended from both Victoria and Christian IX, with latter two having more than one line of descent from both.
* The King of Sweden is descended twice from Victoria (and from her half-sister) but not from Christian IX (although from one of his brothers).
* The King of the Belgians and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg are descended from Christian IX but not from Victoria, although they are descendants of Leopold I of the Belgians, uncle of both Victoria and Albert. 
* The King of the Netherlands, Prince of Liechtenstein and Prince of Monaco are the three sovereigns of hereditary European monarchies descended from neither Victoria nor Christian IX.
== Monarchs descended from Queen Victoria ==
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== Monarchs descended from King Christian IX ==
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== Common ancestry between Victoria and Christian IX ==
Because so many monarchs descend from both Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark, the relationship between these two monarchs is of some interest. These monarchs were third cousins through their mutual descent from King George II of Great Britain. This relationship occurs twice because the maternal grandparents of King Christian IX of Denmark, Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) (1744–1836) and Princess Louise of Denmark (1750–1831), were both children of daughters of King George II of Great Britain (1660–1727) and thus first cousins. Louise of Hesse-Kassel, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, was a granddaughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse (1747–1837), the brother of the aforementioned Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel.
Thus King Christian IX of Denmark and his wife Louise of Hesse-Kassel were both second and third cousins to each other and third cousins to Queen Victoria.
== The longest lived descendants of Victoria and of Christian IX ==
=== Longest lived descendants ===
Name of descendants 	Born	Died 	Age 	Descended from 	Through
Christian, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt 	1923	2023 	100 years, 3 days 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Louise of Denmark
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 	1921	2021 	99 years, 303 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 	1921	2021 	99 years, 303 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Alice of Battenberg
Andrew Andreevich, Prince of Russia 	1923	2021 	98 years, 311 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia
Christian Castenskjold 	1926	Alive	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Dagmar of Denmark
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone 	1883	1981 	97 years, 313 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Margaret, Princess René of Bourbon-Parma 	1895	1992 	97 years, 1 day 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 	1926	2022 	96 years, 140 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 	1926	2022 	96 years, 140 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Michael I of Romania 	1921	2017 	96 years, 41 days 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Carol II of Romania
Michael I of Romania 	1921	2017 	96 years, 41 days 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Sophie of Prussia
Michael I of Romania 	1921	2017 	96 years, 41 days 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Constantine I of Greece
Count Lennart Bernadotte of Wisborg 	1909	2004 	95 years, 227 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia
Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg 	1916	2012 	95 years, 187 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Margaret of Connaught
Lady Pamela Hicks 	1929	Alive	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg 	1907	2002 	94 years, 244 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Margaret of Connaught
Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark 	1913	2007 	94 years, 151 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Sophie of Prussia
Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark 	1913	2007 	94 years, 151 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Constantine I of Greece
Olga, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia 	1903	1997 	94 years, 127 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
Infanta Beatriz, Princess of Civitella-Cesi 	1909	2002 	93 years, 153 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma 	1924	2017 	93 years, 119 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Anne, Queen of Romania 	1923	2016 	92 years, 318 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Margaret of Denmark
Prince Wolfgang of Hesse 	1896	1989 	92 years, 247 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Margaret of Prussia
Prince Carl Bernadotte 	1911	2003 	92 years, 168 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	1932	Alive	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	1932	Alive	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	1932	Alive	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Haakon VII of Norway
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	1932	Alive	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Märtha of Sweden
Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma 	1926	2018 	92 years, 125 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Margaret of Denmark
Count Bertram of Castell-Rüdenhausen 	1932	Alive	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Anne Liddell-Grainger 	1932	Alive	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Lady May Abel Smith
Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia 	1924	2016 	91 years, 273 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn 	1850	1942 	91 years, 260 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Queen Victoria (son & daughter)
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll 	1848	1939 	91 years, 260 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Queen Victoria (son & daughter)
Princess Louise Viktoria of Prussia 	1917	2009 	91 years, 212 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Louise of Denmark
Countess Birgitta Bernadotte of Wisborg 	1933	Alive	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Lennart Bernadotte
Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	1910	2001 	91 years, 100 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Hanover
Marianne von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha 	1933	Alive	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince George William of Hanover 	1915	2006 	90 years, 289 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick
Prince George William of Hanover 	1915	2006 	90 years, 289 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
Ingrid, Queen of Denmark 	1910	2000 	90 years, 224 days	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Margaret of Connaught
Prince David Chavchavadze 	1924	2014 	90 years, 138 days	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia
Albert II of Belgium 	1934	Alive	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Astrid of Sweden
=== Oldest living descendants ===
Name of descendants 	Born	Age	Descended from 	Through
Christian Castenskjold 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Dagmar of Denmark
Lady Pamela Hicks 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Haakon VII of Norway
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Märtha of Sweden
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Count Bertram of Castell-Rüdenhausen 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Anne Liddell-Grainger 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Lady May Abel Smith
Countess Birgitta Bernadotte of Wisborg 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Lennart Bernadotte
Marianne von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Albert II of Belgium 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Astrid of Sweden
Princess Dorothea of Hesse 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Princess Dorothea of Hesse 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Prince Christoph of Hesse
Princess Dorothea of Hesse 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Hans Veit, Count of Toerring-Jettenbach 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark
Countess Victoria of Castell-Rüdenhausen 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Archduchess Alexandra of Austria 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Ileana of Romania
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark
Elizabeth Abel Smith 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Lady May Abel Smith
Princess Christa of Prussia 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Princess Birgitta of Sweden 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
Princess Birgitta of Sweden 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Harald V of Norway 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Haakon VII of Norway
Harald V of Norway 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Märtha of Sweden
Harald V of Norway 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Harald V of Norway 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Prince Ludwig of Baden 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Berthold, Margrave of Baden
Prince Ludwig of Baden 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Ludwig of Baden 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Alice of Battenberg
Countess Helene of Toerring-Jettenbach 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark
Archduke Dominic of Austria 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Ileana of Romania
Juan Carlos I of Spain 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Countess Amélie of Castell-Castell 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Princess Alexandrine-Louise of Denmark
Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Countess Madeleine Bernadotte 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Carl Bernadotte
Queen Sofía of Spain 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick
Queen Sofía of Spain 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Constantine I of Greece
Queen Sofía of Spain 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
Queen Sofía of Spain 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Princess Sophia of Prussia
Calma Barbara Schnirring 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark 	 	 	Christian IX of Denmark 	Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark
Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Peter von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha 	 	 	Victoria of the United Kingdom	Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
== See also ==
*Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark
*Descendants of Queen Victoria
*John William Friso, the most recent ancestor of all European monarchs that have reigned since World War II
*Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, the most recent ancestor of all current European royal houses
== Notes ==
== References ==
* Aronson, Theo. Crowns in Conflict: The Triumph and the Tragedy of European Monarchy 1910–1918
* Aronson, Theo. A Family of Kings: The Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark
* Aronson, Theo. Grandmama of Europe: The Crowned Descendants of Queen Victoria, 1973
* Carter, Miranda. Three Emperors: Three Cousins, Three Empires and the Road to the First World War. London, Penguin. 2009. 
* Gelardi, Julia P. Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria
* Potts, D. M. and W. T. W. Queen Victoria's Gene: Haemophilia and the Royal Family
==External links==
*European Monarchs: Relationships between Queen Elizabeth II and other European sovereigns
Category:European royal families
Victoria
Category:Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom