Present-day Reigning Descendants
The unions between descendants of Queen Victoria and of King Christian IX did not end with the First World War. On the contrary, nearly all European monarchs today are most closely related through their descent from Victoria, Christian or both.
Presently, there are seven kingdoms remaining in Europe:
1. Belgium: Albert II & Queen Paola
2. Denmark: Margrethe II & Prince Consort Henrik
3. Norway: Harald V & Queen Sonja
4. Spain: Juan Carlos I & Queen Sofia
5. Sweden: Carl XVI Gustaf & Queen Silvia
6. United Kingdom: Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
7. Netherlands: Willem-Alexander & Queen Máxima
Harald V of Norway, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Sofía of Spain are all descended from both Queen Victoria and King Christian IX. The first two monarchs are great-grandchildren of the aforementioned union between Alexandra of Denmark (daughter of Christian IX) and Edward VII of the United Kingdom (son of Queen Victoria). Harald V of Norway is actually descended from King Christian IX three ways, twice through his father and once through his mother. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and his wife Queen Elizabeth II are second cousins once removed through King Christian IX and also third cousins as they are both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Queen Sofía of Spain is twice a descendant of Queen Victoria and twice a great-great-granddaughter of Christian IX. 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.
The husband of Queen Sofía, Juan Carlos I of Spain, is descended from Queen Victoria and not from Christian IX at all. Thus, the couple's closest relationship is of third cousins.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is also descended from Queen Victoria and not Christian IX, but he is her descendant twice, as his parents were second cousins because they were both great-grandchildren of Victoria. (Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is however descended from the parents of Christian IX through Christian IX's brother Friedrich.)
Conversely, Albert II of Belgium is descended from Christian IX but not Queen Victoria. He is a first cousin to Harald V of Norway through their grandmother Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, a granddaughter of Christian IX.
In summation, the monarchs of Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom as well as the consorts of the United Kingdom and Spain are descended from both Queen Victoria and King Christian IX. The kings of Spain and Sweden are descended from Queen Victoria and not King Christian IX. The King of Belgium is descended from King Christian IX and not Queen Victoria. The King of the Netherlands is the only monarch descended from neither Queen Victoria nor King Christian IX. (He is, however, a sixth cousin thrice removed of Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Harald V, Margrethe II, Carl XVI Gustaf, Juan Carlos I, and Queen Sofía through descent from Frederick, Prince of Wales; and also a fourth cousin twice removed of Albert II through descent from King William I of the Netherlands.)
Read more about this topic: Royal Descendants Of Queen Victoria And King Christian IX
Famous quotes containing the words present-day and/or descendants:
“The most dangerous aspect of present-day life is the dissolution of the feeling of individual responsibility. Mass solitude has done away with any difference between the internal and the external, between the intellectual and the physical.”
—Eugenio Montale (1896–1981)
“The descendants of Holy Roman Empire monarchies became feeble-minded in the twentieth century, and after World War I had been done in by the democracies; some were kept on to entertain the tourists, like the one they have in England.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)