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The Queen is most closely related to King Harald V of Norway, who is her second cousin and roughly 60th in line to the British throne.
She is also closely related to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and former King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who are her third cousins, and with former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who is her fifth cousin.
The close familial connections between European monarchs is due to the former obligation of Royals to marry individuals of noble blood, as stipulated within the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.
In particular, many of Queen Victoria’s children married into European Royal households, creating close relations between the monarchs of numerous nations.
Notably, Queen Victoria arranged the marriage of Edward VII, her eldest son, to Alexandra of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark.
At the start of the First World War, the grandchildren of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark occupied the thrones of Great Britain, Spain, Russia, Romania, Germany, Norway, Greece and Denmark.
Of the remaining European monarchs today, it is only King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands who does not descended from either Queen Victoria or King Christian IX.
The Queen reportedly maintains close relations with a number of her Royal counterparts, and invited many of them to attend the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011 and the Sovereign’s Jubilee lunch at Windsor Castle in 2012.
Queen Margrethe previously spoke warmly about the British Monarch, saying: “She’s wonderful. I really admire the way she has lived her life, the way she continues to live her life.
“She’s so dedicated and she has a marvellous sense of humour.
“I’m lucky enough to know her privately and I do enjoy that sense of humour.
“I also think that in the later years, that sense of humour has come across to the general public in Britain much more than it used to. And I’m so delighted for her sake.
“I know that her faith is very important to her, but I’m sure also it’s her sense of humour that keeps her looking so very good, that keeps her wonderful, in fact.”
The Danish monarch also expressed her love for London, and has made numerous trips to the British capital to visit Queen Elizabeth and to attend the theatre.
She said: “I’ve enjoyed Shakespeare’s plays for a very long time.
“I was taken by my parents to see Hamlet at Kronborg in the early 1950s, with Richard Burton as Hamlet.
“Since then, I’ve seen so many Shakespeare plays. I usually come to London in December and I always manage to see at least one.”
The Queen made Queen Margrethe a Lady of the Order of the Garter in 1979, and gave Queen Beatrix the same honour in 1989.
King Harald V was also made a Stranger Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in 2001 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
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