Queen Sofía of Spain — queen consort of spain with roots in the Russian Empire
Sofía of Greece and Denmark was born at Psychiko, near Athens, on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of Crown Prince Paul and Frederica of Hanover. She spent the war years in exile with her family in Egypt and South Africa and returned to Greece in 1946, the year before her father became king. She was educated at the Schloss Salem school in Germany and later studied childcare, music and archaeology in Athens. Her younger brother Constantine succeeded their father as King of the Hellenes in 1964.
Her Russian descent is through her father's line. Her grandfather, King Constantine I, was the eldest son of George I of Greece and Queen Olga, born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna at Pavlovsk Palace outside St Petersburg in 1851, a granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Through Olga, Sofía is a cousin of Prince Philip and of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and the sister of King Constantine II of Greece.
In 1960 she was a reserve member of the Greek Olympic sailing team at Rome, where her brother won gold. On 14 May 1962 she married Juan Carlos of Spain in Athens, in Catholic and Orthodox ceremonies, and later joined the Catholic Church. The couple settled in Madrid, where their three children were born: Elena, Cristina and Felipe.
When Francisco Franco died in November 1975, Juan Carlos became king and Sofía queen consort. In the transition to democracy that followed, she took on a large public role, concentrating on social causes: in 1977 she founded the Queen Sofía Foundation, which works in education, disability, drug-addiction programmes and research into Alzheimer's disease, and she became honorary president of numerous cultural and scientific bodies. She was a regular presence at cultural events and championed the Queen Sofía School of Music and the Reina Sofía Museum, which bears her name.
Juan Carlos abdicated in June 2014, and their son became King Felipe VI. Sofía has continued to carry out public engagements as queen mother. Through her, the descent from a grand duchess born at Pavlovsk runs to the King of Spain and to his heir, Leonor, Princess of Asturias.
Tracing the roots — Pavlovsk (great-grandmother)
Her great-grandmother, Queen Olga of Greece, was born a Russian grand duchess at Pavlovsk in 1851, a granddaughter of Nicholas I. Through her the Romanov line passes to King Felipe VI of Spain.
Great-granddaughter of Queen Olga of Greece, born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna at Pavlovsk in 1851, through her grandfather Constantine I and father Paul.
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Pavlovsk (great-grandmother). At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.