 Nicholas was a grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark and a nephew of Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII, as his mother, the Empress Maria Fedorovna, was the former Princess Dagmar of Denmark.The two emperors corresponded in English and were accustomed to calling each other "Willy" and "Nicky" but would use their counterparts' formal names in formal communications.The Willy-Nicky letters consist of 75 messages Wilhelm sent to Nicholas between 8 November 1894 (Letter I) and 26 March 1914 (Letter LXXV).