The Grandmother of Europe (6/20)

Her children married into numerous noble families across Europe, earning her the sobriquet of “the Grandmother of Europe”. She had 42 grandchildren in total, 34 of which survived to adulthood. Further evidence of this shared ancestry can be seen in pictures of royal figures from the early 20th century – for example, King George V of England and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (pictured above) bore staggering physical resemblance to each other as cousins. She was also the grandmother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who England would later go to war with just thirteen years after her death, marking the beginning of World War I.