Family Background
Nicholas was the son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (formerly "Princess Dagmar of Denmark"). His paternal grandparents were Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (born "Princess Marie of Hesse"). His maternal grandparents were King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Nicholas was of Russian, Danish, and German descent.
Nicholas often referred to his father nostalgically in letters after Alexander's death in 1894. He was also very close to his mother, as revealed in their published letters to each other. Nicholas had three younger brothers (Alexander, George and Michael ) and two younger sisters (Xenia and Olga ).
Maternally, Nicholas was the nephew of several monarchs, including George I of Greece; Frederick VIII of Denmark; Alexandra, Queen consort of the United Kingdom; and the Crown Princess of Hanover. Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany were all first cousins of King George V of the United Kingdom.
Nicholas' mother was the sister of British Queen Alexandra, the mother of George V. The Empress Alexandra was the daughter of Princess Alice, herself a daughter of Queen Victoria, thus making Edward VII her uncle, and cousin to the Emperor Wilhelm, on her mother's side; and equally a direct descendant of Queen Victoria. The Emperor Wilhelm was a son of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, also named Victoria, who married Crown Prince Frederick of Germany. Nicholas and Wilhelm were not each other's first cousin, but they were second cousins, once removed, as each descended from Frederick William III, King of Prussia, as well as third cousins, as they were both great-great-grandsons of Emperor Paul I of Russia.
Read more about this topic: Nicholas II Of Russia
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