Queen Victoria’s Cousins – Christina Croft

I was familiar with the fact that most of Europe’s royalty is descended from Queen Victoria and her numerous children. And I knew she came from a background that linked her to other royalty (her uncle became the King of Belgium, and her consort, her own first cousin, was a German prince), but I had not realized how extensive that network was. And that’s just her maternal relatives. It’s easy to forget that there were several other royal uncles, sons of George III, still kicking around, and that they had children of their own.

This book charts those relationships. Each chapter covers a particular theme (usually relating to a certain smaller family within the family), and they’re roughly chronological. It’s an interesting survey of 19th century history, and how a few extended families influenced quite a bit of it. Probably be fun for anyone that’s recently watched Victoria on Masterpiece.