A new interactive family tree has been launched by the travel company Expedia to explain just how the British and Scandinavian royals are related to each other. “Royally Connected” allows users to explore the family ties shared by Europe’s most prominent royal houses, by using simple diagrams and symbols to illustrate the lineage of the present kings and queens.
The map primarily features the bloodlines of the royal families of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, but extends to England and the other Nordic countries. All the royals included in the family trees have their own personal card, containing their full name, title, and a short biography. The map presents not only their current country of residence but also their country of origin.
The map only allows users to trace the ancestry of their favourite royals back to the 19th century – or rather, to Queen Victoria, who features in the family tree of practically every monarch on the list. Queen Victoria was famously known as the “Grandmother of Europe,” because her grandchildren occupied the thrones in almost all European countries at the beginning of the 20th century. A large number of bloodlines can also be traced back to King Christian IX of Denmark, who was similarly called the “Father-in-law of Europe” on account of his children’s marriages to foreign royalty.
Having Queen Victoria as a common ancestor easily explains how the present Scandinavian monarchs are related to Queen Elizabeth II. For instance, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden traces his British connection back to his grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, who was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is also a granddaughter of Margaret of Connaught, making her first-cousin to the Swedish monarch. Similarly, King Harald V of Norway is descended from Edward VII’s daughter, Princess Maud, who was his paternal grandmother.
The map also lists trends within the royal families over history, including the most popular names among royalty. It reveals that the most popular name for a girl is Louise, with 19 royals having that name, closely followed by Marie and Victoria. For boys, Christian is the most popular with 27 royals (mainly belonging to the Danish Royal Family) having that name, followed by Carl and Frederik.
“Royally Connected” is available in English, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. It can be viewed below, or by clicking here.
Of course they are related. QUEEN VICTORIA populated the entire continent of Europe..
Unfortunately too many of them have her characteristics.
Ooo. Wow!! I just saw a Documentary on her… I never realized she hated kids so much.
She really knew how to spin that PR machine.
Perhaps Chas should have took some notes. I just read he never gave Diana a Flower. Mr Garden. Couldn’t pick one after she gave birth? Boy, he’d better pray the people are forgiving, if / when he gets to sit on the Big Boy Chair.
One wonders what all this family closeness does to their lines.
The British is by far the world’s best known monarchy.
Victoria’s descendants sit (or sat) on the thrones of the U.K., Germany, Russia, Greece, Spain, Romania, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, plus several German principalities (now defunct) such as Saxe-Coburg, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Hanover.
Victoria’s Husband was German. So there is that as well…too bad it only goes as far back as Victoria. The whole lineage all the way back thousand years would be interesting to map out all of Europe
Geneology not so user friendly, and really only goes back to th 30’s or so. Disappointing.