Monday, October 8, 2012

Prince Albert of Saxony (1934-2012)

Prince Albert of Saxony, the last surviving male-line grandson of the last King of Saxony, has died in Munich at the age of 77, less than three months after his brother Maria Emanuel who had been the last undisputed head of the family.  In recent years there has been some controversy over the succession to the Saxon throne, which my friend Arturo Beéche explains in detail at Eurohistory.  This blog, like Mr. Beéche's, supports the late Maria Emanuel's adoption of his nephew Alexander (son of Princess Maria Anna and Lebanese aristocrat Robert de Afif and himself married to Princess Gisela of Bavaria) as heir (accepted by the entire family in 1997, though some members including Albert subsequently reneged on the agreement) and so hails him as Margrave of Meissen and rightful King Alexander I of Saxony.   Two thousand twelve has been a sad year for the Royal House of Saxony. Princess Maria Anna (b 1929) died on March 13, Prince Maria Emanuel Margrave of Meissen (b 1926) on July 23, and Prince Albert (b 1934) on October 6. They were all children of Prince Friedrich Christian (1893-1968), son and heir of King Friedrich August III (1865-1932). Only their sisters Princess Maria Josepha, 84, and Princess Mathilde, 76, survive of this generation of Saxon royalty.  May all three departed dynasts rest in peace.



2 comments:

Mateus G. M. F. Tibúrcio said...

Requiem aeterna dona eis, Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

I feel sad for this great house.

@Mr. Harvey: I guess there´s some fertility problem asssociated to the House of Wettin. Do you know any research about it?

Theodore Harvey said...

I don't think there is any particular fertility problem. Previous generations of Wettins had plenty of sons. It's a combination of bad luck and morganatic marriages that the royal house is smaller than it used to be.