Read more about: Kings and Queens The longest reigning monarchs in history Russia Although Wilhelm was in direct conflict with Britain, he’d not only been awarded the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria but was also present at her deathbed. Their eldest son, Wilhelm, was Germany’s last Emperor and his militaristic ambitions played a key part in bringing Europe to war in 1914. At the age of 17, she married Prince Frederick of Prussia who became German Emperor and King of Prussia in 1888. The firstborn child of Victoria and Albert was Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, otherwise known as Victoria, Princess Royal. George's eldest daughter, Elizabeth II, went on to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. His younger brother, George VI, took his place as king in late 1936. Young Edward's reign was short-lived after he caused a constitutional crisis by abdicating the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. When King George died in 1936, his eldest son, Edward VIII, succeeded him. Read more about: WW1 The Kaiser, the Tsar and King George V - cousins at war in WW1 King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. After war descended on Europe in 1914, three royal cousins found themselves in direct conflict with each other. If Edward’s mother was the ‘grandmother of Europe’, Edward was the ‘uncle of Europe’ since he was related to nearly every other European monarch.Īlthough he died in 1910, before the outbreak of WWI, his poor relationship with his nephew Wilhelm, strained connections between the two countries.Įdward's firstborn son passed away from influenza and so his second, George V, inherited the throne in 1910. In 1863, he married Princess Alexandra of Denmark. This meant Victoria and Albert’s firstborn son should inherit the throne, which he did upon Victoria’s death in 1901.īorn Albert Edward, and nicknamed ‘Bertie’, he chose to reign as King Edward VII. Read more about: Popular Culture The German kings and queens of EnglandĪlthough Victoria and Albert's firstborn was a girl, constitutional law at the time dictated the line of succession followed male-preference primogeniture. When she died the British Empire was almost at its peak, covering a quarter of the world and nearly half a billion people. Her reign was synonymous with Britain’s industrial development, economic progression, and imperial expansion.

She sat atop the throne for nearly 64 years, making her Britain's second longest-reigning monarch. However, her three uncles had no legitimate children who survived and so Victoria was crowned in 1837. She was never meant to ascend the throne being so down in the order of succession.

It’s no wonder she earned the nickname ‘the grandmother of Europe’ for she connects most of the continent via bloodlines.īorn in London on 24th May 1819, Victoria was the only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III. If only there were a version about Queen Victoria, whose nine children married into royal families throughout Europe.

The catchy tune lyricises about how ‘the hip bone’s connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone’s connected to the knee bone’ and so on. As a child learning about human anatomy, you may have come across the song ‘Dem Bones’.

Queen victoria family tree