Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX were closely related due to their mutual descent from either Queen Victoria, King Christian IX or both. The most commonly cited example is the fact that Nicholas, his wife, Alexandra, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were all first cousins of King George V of the United Kingdom. Other countries who fought against Germany in addition to Russia and the United Kingdom were Romania, whose queen-consort, Marie, wife of King Ferdinand I, was a cousin of the Kaiser, and Greece, whose queen-consort, Sophia, wife of King Constantine I, was the Kaiser's own sister. Additionally, King George V was a first
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II the western Baltic on 21 September. During these exercises, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" served as the umpire ship, and so Hoffmann temporarily transferred his flag to her sister ship . He returned to "Kaiser Wilhelm II" on 29 September after the conclusion of the exercises in Kiel. On 1 November 1900, "Kaiser Friedrich III" replaced "Kaiser Wilhelm II" as the I Squadron flagship; the latter, as the fleet flagship, remained assigned to the squadron for tactical purposes. From 4 to 15 December, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" and the I Squadron went on a winter training cruise to Norway; the ships anchored at