Saxe-Gessaphe
Encyclopedia
Saxe-Gessaphe is the name of a family descended in the female line from former kings of Saxony
, a member of which has been recognized by the pretender
to that throne as eventual heir to the deposed dynasty's rights. The claim is contested by an agnatic
descendant of the former royal house, and both claims are clouded by conflicting interpretations of the dynastic laws which governed the succession to the throne of Saxony
, and by familial dispute.
, (born 13 December 1929), and her late husband Roberto de Afif, (1916 - 1978). Anna is a sister of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen
, the childless current head of the ex-royal House of Saxony and, as such, titular King of Saxony. Of the five children of the late Prince Friedrich Christian
, (1893 - 1968), son and heir of Saxony's last king Friedrich August III
(who was obliged to abdicate in 1918 coincident with Germany's surrender in World War I
), Anna is the only one who has living, legitimate children.
Succession to Saxony's throne was semi-Salic: only if all male dynasts were to become extinct, would the female dynast nearest in kinship to the last male, or her descendants, have inherited the throne. Both male and female dynasts, however, were required to "marry equally
" (to a member of a reigning, formerly reigning, or noble family of at least reichsgrafliche rank) in order to transmit dynastic rights to their own descendants. Thus the eligibility of the Saxe-Gessaphe line for the royal Saxon legacy would depend on the dynasticity of their mother's marriage.
to an ancient princely Maronite Catholic family in what is now Lebanon
. Afif, emir
in Keserwan
and grandson of the Lebanese emir Mansur 'Asaf bin Hassan (1522-1580), is said to be the ancestor of the Christian
ised dynasty of the sheikh
s of Bkassine, from which Roberto descends.
According to the royal genealogical book series, L'Allemagne dynastique, Princess Anna maintains that her husband's family descend from Suleiman
, who was granted the province of Keserwan, north of Beirut, in 1306 by the Mamluk
s. She further avers that Roberto's father, Alexander Afif (1883-1971), a lifelong resident of Beirut, was a knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
and was Prince of "Assaph" (or Afif-Gessaphe) in Lebanon.
Roberto emigrated to Mexico, obtained a law degree
, and made his living as a businessman. The family associated with some of the most prominent Mexican families. Although not as wealthy as they used to be, the family lives a modest, upper middle class
life in one of Mexico City
's better neighbourhoods, Polanco
.
Roberto's sister, Alexandra Afif, born in Beirut in 1919, morganatically
married Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern (born 1922), in Rome in 1951. Prince Karl Anton was a nephew of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, and is thus a first cousin of Margrave Maria Emanuel and Princess Anna.
(1969-1987), of the Ernestine branch
of the House of Wettin, was killed in a mountain climbing accident while still a youth, leaving his maternal uncle, Margrave Maria Emanuel, without a dynastic heir in the next generation of Wettins. However the eldest son of his sister Anna, Alexander Afif (b. Munich 12 February 1954), had married Princess Gisela of Bavaria (b. 10 September 1964) in 1987. In May 1997 the Margrave, who has upheld the dynasty's marital standards despite its deposition and exile, recognized Alexander Afif as his heir. By formally adopting him two years later, the Margrave conferred upon Alexander the legal surname of "Prinz von Sachsen" (literally, Prince of Saxony). Thus was created the family of Saxe-Gessaphe, a cognatic
offshoot of the royal House of Wettin: With the approval of the Margrave, Alexander, his sons, and his brothers are also known as Princes of Saxe-Gessaphe.
In the spring of 1997 it was announced that the surviving male dynasts of the royal House (presumably Princes Albert
, Dedo, and Gero {1925 - 2003}) 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.
, subsequently stated that he does not accept that decision as binding. He prefers that Rüdiger Prinz von Sachsen, the son of his first cousin the late Prince Timo of Saxony (1923 - 1982) (and Rüdiger's three sons) succeed to the royal Saxon claim. Since Rüdiger's mother was a commoner, that would require retroactive "de-morganatization" of the late Timo's marriage, an act the remaining agnates of the royal House have yet to agree upon. In some circumstances, German princely law (Fürstenrecht) did allow a consensus of dynasts - or the last surviving male dynast - to "dynasticize" the issue of a morganatic marriage
through unanimous and irrevocable action. Albert was the youngest dynastic male remaining in the family as of . Thus, the fate of the dynasty's claim may depend upon who will be the last surviving male dynast, Maria Emanuel or his brother, Albert.
However, Saxony's constitution and house law explicitly required that descendants of the royal house had to be born of "equal marriage" in order to succeed to the throne. Moreover, Fürstenrecht, derived from German legal customs, was considered subordinate in applicability to enacted law. Under such circumstances, if Alexander's father and Rüdiger's mother would not have qualified as "equal in birth" (ebenbürtig) for purposes of the succession, neither of them might be deemed eligible to become the next pretender to the Saxon royal throne. If, however, the Afif heritage is deemed to have been "princely", Alexander, at least, may qualify as a dynast without resort to an act of "de-morganatization".
The line of succession within the Saxony-Gessaphe line would be:
The three last are Alexander's sons with Gisela. They also have a daughter, Princess Maria Teresita.
The name Saxe-Gessaphe is used also by Alexander's brothers (younger sons of Princess Anna) and nieces (although none of them has yet been officially adopted into the family):
In the event that Princess Anna's marriage with Roberto Afif is not deemed dynastically acceptable, the next cognatic heir born of dynastic marriage (and thus potentially a rival to Alexander) might be found in Frederick William, Prince of Hohenzollern
(b. 1924), as the son of Princess Margaret of Saxony (1900-1962), the eldest aunt of Maria Emanuel.
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, a member of which has been recognized by the pretender
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
to that throne as eventual heir to the deposed dynasty's rights. The claim is contested by an agnatic
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
descendant of the former royal house, and both claims are clouded by conflicting interpretations of the dynastic laws which governed the succession to the throne of Saxony
Line of succession to the Saxon throne
-Royal House of Saxony:The Kingdom of Saxony was abolished in 1918 when King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony abdicated. The current head of the royal house is Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen; he is dynastically married but has no children. The succession law until the abolition of the monarchy...
, and by familial dispute.
Dynastic background
The family descends from Princess Anna of SaxonyPrincess Anna of Saxony (b. 1929)
Princess Maria Anna Josepha of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony is 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...
, (born 13 December 1929), and her late husband Roberto de Afif, (1916 - 1978). Anna is a sister of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen
Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen
Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen is the head of the Royal House of Saxony.Born in Schloss Prüfening, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany as son of Hereditary Prince Frederick Christian of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen and Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis.He and Princess Anastasia of Anhalt ...
, the childless current head of the ex-royal House of Saxony and, as such, titular King of Saxony. Of the five children of the late Prince Friedrich Christian
Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen
Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen was the head of the Royal House of Saxony.-Life:He was born at Dresden, the second son of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and his wife Archduchess Luise, Princess of Tuscany...
, (1893 - 1968), son and heir of Saxony's last king Friedrich August III
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
This article is about King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. For the elector Frederick Augustus III, see Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.Frederick Augustus III was the last King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the son of King George of Saxony...
(who was obliged to abdicate in 1918 coincident with Germany's surrender in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
), Anna is the only one who has living, legitimate children.
Succession to Saxony's throne was semi-Salic: only if all male dynasts were to become extinct, would the female dynast nearest in kinship to the last male, or her descendants, have inherited the throne. Both male and female dynasts, however, were required to "marry equally
Equal marriage
Equal marriage can refer to:*The custom or legal requirement of Ebenbürtigkeit practiced by royalty in Europe and elsewhere; see Royal intermarriage....
" (to a member of a reigning, formerly reigning, or noble family of at least reichsgrafliche rank) in order to transmit dynastic rights to their own descendants. Thus the eligibility of the Saxe-Gessaphe line for the royal Saxon legacy would depend on the dynasticity of their mother's marriage.
Lebanese heritage
Afif belonged paternallyPatrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
to an ancient princely Maronite Catholic family in what is now Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. Afif, emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
in Keserwan
Keserwan District
Keserwan is a district in the Mount Lebanon Governorate , Lebanon, to the northeast of the Lebanon's capital Beirut...
and grandson of the Lebanese emir Mansur 'Asaf bin Hassan (1522-1580), is said to be the ancestor of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
ised dynasty of the sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s of Bkassine, from which Roberto descends.
According to the royal genealogical book series, L'Allemagne dynastique, Princess Anna maintains that her husband's family descend from Suleiman
Suleiman
Suleiman is the main transliteration of the Arabic name, , the name means "man of peace" and corresponds to the English name Solomon.The word may also be transliterated as Sulaiman, Suleman, Soliman, Sulayman, Süleyman, Sulejman, Sleiman, Sleman, Solyman or Seleman...
, who was granted the province of Keserwan, north of Beirut, in 1306 by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s. She further avers that Roberto's father, Alexander Afif (1883-1971), a lifelong resident of Beirut, was a knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the pope. It traces its roots to Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, principal leader of the First Crusade...
and was Prince of "Assaph" (or Afif-Gessaphe) in Lebanon.
Roberto emigrated to Mexico, obtained a law degree
Doctor of law
Doctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
, and made his living as a businessman. The family associated with some of the most prominent Mexican families. Although not as wealthy as they used to be, the family lives a modest, upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
life in one of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
's better neighbourhoods, Polanco
Polanco (Mexico)
Polanco is the name that usually refers to a group of seven official neighborhoods in Mexico City, located north of Chapultepec Park. The official names of the neighborhoods are: Los Morales , Del Bosque, Polanco Reforma, Polanco Chapultepec, Chapultepec Morales, Bosque de Chapultepec and...
.
Roberto's sister, Alexandra Afif, born in Beirut in 1919, morganatically
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
married Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern (born 1922), in Rome in 1951. Prince Karl Anton was a nephew of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, and is thus a first cousin of Margrave Maria Emanuel and Princess Anna.
Designated heir
Prince Johannes of Saxe-Coburg-KoharyJohannes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Hereditary Prince of Kohary
Johannes Albert Leopold Frederick Christian, Prince Heir of Saxe-Coburg-Koháry, in Slovak: Ján ..., in Hungarian: János ..., in German: Johannes Albert Leopold Friedrich Christian Erbprinz von Sachsen-Coburg-Kohary was a German royal and presumed heir of his maternal...
(1969-1987), of the Ernestine branch
Ernestine duchies
The Ernestine duchies, also called the Saxon duchies , were a changing number of small states largely located in the present German state of Thuringia, governed by dukes of the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin.-Overview:The...
of the House of Wettin, was killed in a mountain climbing accident while still a youth, leaving his maternal uncle, Margrave Maria Emanuel, without a dynastic heir in the next generation of Wettins. However the eldest son of his sister Anna, Alexander Afif (b. Munich 12 February 1954), had married Princess Gisela of Bavaria (b. 10 September 1964) in 1987. In May 1997 the Margrave, who has upheld the dynasty's marital standards despite its deposition and exile, recognized Alexander Afif as his heir. By formally adopting him two years later, the Margrave conferred upon Alexander the legal surname of "Prinz von Sachsen" (literally, Prince of Saxony). Thus was created the family of Saxe-Gessaphe, a cognatic
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
offshoot of the royal House of Wettin: With the approval of the Margrave, Alexander, his sons, and his brothers are also known as Princes of Saxe-Gessaphe.
In the spring of 1997 it was announced that the surviving male dynasts of the royal House (presumably Princes Albert
Prince Albert of Saxony
Prince Albert Joseph Maria Franz-Xaver of Saxony, Duke of Saxony is the fourth child and youngest son of Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen and his wife Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis and a younger brother of Maria...
, Dedo, and Gero {1925 - 2003}) 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.
Dispute
However the Margrave's brother, Prince AlbertPrince Albert of Saxony
Prince Albert Joseph Maria Franz-Xaver of Saxony, Duke of Saxony is the fourth child and youngest son of Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen and his wife Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis and a younger brother of Maria...
, subsequently stated that he does not accept that decision as binding. He prefers that Rüdiger Prinz von Sachsen, the son of his first cousin the late Prince Timo of Saxony (1923 - 1982) (and Rüdiger's three sons) succeed to the royal Saxon claim. Since Rüdiger's mother was a commoner, that would require retroactive "de-morganatization" of the late Timo's marriage, an act the remaining agnates of the royal House have yet to agree upon. In some circumstances, German princely law (Fürstenrecht) did allow a consensus of dynasts - or the last surviving male dynast - to "dynasticize" the issue of a morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
through unanimous and irrevocable action. Albert was the youngest dynastic male remaining in the family as of . Thus, the fate of the dynasty's claim may depend upon who will be the last surviving male dynast, Maria Emanuel or his brother, Albert.
However, Saxony's constitution and house law explicitly required that descendants of the royal house had to be born of "equal marriage" in order to succeed to the throne. Moreover, Fürstenrecht, derived from German legal customs, was considered subordinate in applicability to enacted law. Under such circumstances, if Alexander's father and Rüdiger's mother would not have qualified as "equal in birth" (ebenbürtig) for purposes of the succession, neither of them might be deemed eligible to become the next pretender to the Saxon royal throne. If, however, the Afif heritage is deemed to have been "princely", Alexander, at least, may qualify as a dynast without resort to an act of "de-morganatization".
The line of succession within the Saxony-Gessaphe line would be:
- Prince Alexander of Saxe-GessaphePrince Alexander of Saxe-GessaphePrince Alexander of Saxe-Gessaphe , is the adopted heir of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, and a businessman with Lebanese, Mexican and German roots....
(b. 1954) - Prince Georg Philipp of Saxe-GessaphePrince Georg Philipp of Saxe-GessaphePrince Georg Philipp of Saxe-Gessaphe, , is the eldest son and heir of Prince Alexander of Saxe-Gessaphe and Princess Gisela of Bavaria.He stands to become pretender to the Saxon throne after his...
(b. 1988), hereditary prince - Prince Moritz of Saxe-Gessaphe (b. 1989)
- Prince Paul of Saxe-Gessaphe (b. 1993)
The three last are Alexander's sons with Gisela. They also have a daughter, Princess Maria Teresita.
The name Saxe-Gessaphe is used also by Alexander's brothers (younger sons of Princess Anna) and nieces (although none of them has yet been officially adopted into the family):
- Friedrich Wilhelm Memo Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe (b. 1955), a Jesuit priest
- Karl August Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe (b. 1958), professor at the FernUniversität at HagenHagenHagen is the 39th-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ennepe meet the river Ruhr...
, Dr. iur. habil.; and his two daughters:- Maria Antonia (b. 1994)
- Maria Fernanda Desirée (b. 1999)
In the event that Princess Anna's marriage with Roberto Afif is not deemed dynastically acceptable, the next cognatic heir born of dynastic marriage (and thus potentially a rival to Alexander) might be found in Frederick William, Prince of Hohenzollern
Frederick William, Prince of Hohenzollern
Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern was the head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.-Biography:Friedrich Wilhelm was born in Schloss Umkirch...
(b. 1924), as the son of Princess Margaret of Saxony (1900-1962), the eldest aunt of Maria Emanuel.