Did you know that at the time of the First World War, the rulers of the world’s three greatest nations – King George V of Great Britain and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on the one hand, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany on the other – were first cousins?

Their grandmother was Queen Victoria. The German Kaiser said that if she were alive, she would never have allowed them to go to war with each other.

From left: Czar Nicholas II of Russia, King George V of Britain and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

(C) W. and D. Downey/Getty Images (left and center) and Hulton Archive/Getty Images

This story was submitted by Barbara Greeves