Princess Anna of Saxony (1929–2012)


Princess Maria Anna Josepha of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony 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.
Anna 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, 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" . 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.

Titles and styles