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 I, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron on 5 August 1914; "Kaiser Wilhelm II" served as the flagship of the squadron. The ships were readied for war very slowly, and they were not ready for service in the North Sea until the end of August. They were initially tasked with coastal defense, though they served in this capacity for a very short time. In mid-September, the V Squadron was transferred to the Baltic, under the command of Prince Heinrich. He initially planned to launch a major amphibious assault