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 first to Norwegian waters and then to Kiel in early September, and finally a mock attack on Kiel. The exercises concluded on 12 September. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" finished the year's training schedule with a cruise into the eastern Baltic that started on 23 November and a cruise into the Skagerrak that began on 1 December. During the latter, the ship stopped in the Danish port of Frederikshavn. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" participated in an exercise in the Skagerrak from 11 to 21 January 1904, after which she returned to Kiel. She then went to the Norwegian city of Ålesund to assist