Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX

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, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Felipe VI of Spain are all descended from both Queen Victoria and King Christian IX.[2] 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. Margrethe II of Denmark is descended once each from Victoria and Christian IX. She is also a first cousin to Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden through Victoria's granddaughter Princess Margaret of Connaught. 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, as his parents were 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.

In summation:

• The monarchs of Norway, Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom are descended from both Victoria and Christian IX, with the King of Spain and the King of the United Kingdom having more than one line of descent of 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 is the only European monarch (along with the princes of Liechtenstein and Monaco) descended from neither Victoria nor Christian IX. He is, however, a sixth cousin twice removed of Harald V, Margrethe II and Carl XVI Gustaf through descent from Frederick, Prince of Wales; a sixth cousin four times removed of Felipe VI and sixth cousin thrice times removed of Charles III also via descent from Frederick; and a fourth cousin thrice removed of Philippe of Belgium through descent from William I of the Netherlands. Furthermore, William I of the Netherlands was also second cousin once removed to both Queen Victoria and King Christian IX, since he was the great-grandson of George II of Great Britain. Hence, all current reigning kings and queens in Europe, including the Netherlands, are related through the line of George II of Great Britain.

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.

• Descendants of Queen Victoria
• John William Friso, Prince of Orange, 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

• 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. ISBN 978-0-670-91556-9
• 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

• European Monarchs: Relationships between Queen Elizabeth II and other European sovereigns