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
King George V-class battleship (1939) and Italy, it was supposed by the designers of these battleships that the treaty might not be renewed and the ships of the "King George V" class were designed with this possibility in mind. All five ships saw combat during World War II, with "King George V" and "Prince of Wales" being involved in the action on 24 May to 27 May 1941 that resulted in the German battleship being sunk. Following this on 25 October 1941, "Prince of Wales" was sent to Singapore arriving on 2 December and becoming the flagship of Force Z. On 10 December, "Prince of