House Wettin Name Princess of | Religion Roman Catholicism Role 1929–2012 | |
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Born 13 December 1929
Bad Worishofen, Bavaria, Germany ( 1929-12-13 ) Issue Alexander, Margrave of Meissen
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm
Prince Karl August Father Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen Mother Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis Died March 13, 2012, Munich, Germany Spouse Roberto de Afif, Prince of Gessaphe (m. 1953) Children Alexander, Margrave of Meissen Parents Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen, Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis Siblings Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen Similar People Maria Emanuel - Margrave, Alexander - Margrave of Meissen, Friedrich Christian - Margrave, Prince Ernst Heinrich, Frederick Augustus III of Saxony | ||
Princess Maria Anna Josepha of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony (Full German name: Maria Anna Josepha, Prinzessin von Sachsen, Herzogin zu Sachsen; 13 December 1929 – 13 March 2012) was a Princess of Saxony and member of the House of Wettin by birth and a Princess of Gessaphe and member of the House of Afif-Gessaphe by marriage.
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Mathilde was the third child and second-eldest daughter of Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen and his wife Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis, and a younger sister of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen and Albert, Margrave of Meissen, former heads of the Royal House of Saxony and senior claimants to the defunct throne of the Kingdom of Saxony.
Marriage and issue
Anna married Roberto de Afif, Prince of Gessaphe (1916–1978), son of Alexander de Afif and his wife, Maria Atthye, on 1 May 1953 in Paris, France. Anna and Roberto had three sons:
In May 1997, Anna's elder brother Maria Emanuel, who has upheld the dynasty's marital standards despite its deposition and exile, recognized her eldest son Alexander de Afif as his heir. By formally adopting him two years later, Maria Emanuel conferred upon Alexander the legal surname of "Prinz von Sachsen" (Prince of Saxony). Thus was created the family of Saxe-Gessaphe, a cognatic offshoot of the royal House of Wettin: With the approval of Maria Emanuel, Alexander, his sons and brothers are also known as Princes of Saxe-Gessaphe.
In the spring of 1997, it was announced that the remaining dynasts of the Royal House of Saxony had met and consented to the designation of Alexander as dynastic heir in the event that none of them leave sons by dynastically valid marriages.