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 his flag to the ship on 23 April, while "Kaiser Friedrich III" went into drydock for repairs. In the meantime, on 18 April, Wilhelm II commissioned his son Prince Adalbert aboard "Kaiser Wilhelm II". On 27 April, the I Squadron conducted gunnery drills and a landing exercise off Apenrade. By 17 June, "Kaiser Wilhelm II"s sister ship had entered service, and so she took over flagship duties for the squadron, while "Kaiser Wilhelm II" returned to serving as only the fleet flagship. The squadron then went on a cruise to Spain, and while docked in Cádiz, rendezvoused with the "Brandenburg"-class