well, while i was studying european genealogy i noticed a lot of simmilar ties. people tended to marry cousins, first, second, third degree... and so on... actually, not people just royals although i'm sure it happened to normal people too
Wow! I never even thought of the Romanovs being at all related to the Tudors! Very interesting!
And about the cousins, especially with royals, they did tend to intermarry. Even today in the modern monarchies:
Mihai I of Romania and Anne of Borbon-Parma are third cousins
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are second cousins, once removed on the Danish/Greek side, and third cousins on the British side.
Olaf I of Norway and Martha of Sweden were first cousins (not so modern-day but, you get the point).
Nicholas II of Russia and Alix of Hesse were second cousins through Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (although she was thought to be fathered by someone other than the grand duke of Hesse) and through Alix's Hessian grandmother on her father's side.