Saxe-Gessaphe
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Saxe-Gessaphe is a Lebanese-Mexican-German family with royal and high noble roots, and its head stands in a rivalry to become the Head of the Royal House of Saxony, and pretender to the thrones of Kings of Saxony, Poland and Lithuania.
The family descends from Princess Anna of Saxony (born 13 December 1929, in German: Maria Anna Josepha Prinzessin zu Sachsen) and her late husband Roberto de Afif (Mexico City 30 November 1916 - Mexico City 13 December 1978). Princess Anna is the elder sister of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, the childless current head of the royal House of Saxony, and heir to the abovementioned royal thrones.
The late Roberto de Afif belonged to a Maronite Catholic Lebanese chieftain family of the Gessaphe tribe (alternatively written Gesaphe) and some sources have dubbed a princely title to him, some others call him "Lord" or "sheikh". The Afif are reported to be a Lebanese noble family. His forefathers had emigrated to Mexico, where he chiefly lived, as a businessman, He was Doctor of Law. It is not altogether clear whether the Afif-Gessaphe marriage meets Saxony's equality requirements; the Lebanese are not easy to place in the German ranking, and the Pope has not yet ruled on their status of nobility.
The succession to the royal throne of Saxony was Semi-Salic. If male dynasts go extinct, the successor would be son of the closest female dynast if she is deceased. This means that the Saxe-Gessaphe stand very near to succession, their eligiblity being dependet on their mother's marriage's dynasticity. If they are dynastic, there is no need of any adoption - the succession follows the old law.
The couple's eldest son Alexander de Afif (born Munich 12 February 1954) had in 1987 married Princess Gisela of Bavaria (b. 10 September 1964). This marriage enhanced his dynastical potential in eyes of monarchist circles and of his maternal uncle the Margrave. Because Alexander's first cousin the young Prince Johannes of Saxe-Coburg (1969-87) was killed in 1987 in a skiing accident, the Margrave was left without his clearly eligible cognatic heir. In May 1997 (after several years of contemplations and preparations), the Margrave of Meissen decided to make Alexander de Afif his heir, and adopted him two years later which gave him the legal surname of Prinz von Sachsen. Thus was created the family of Saxe-Gessaphe, a cognatic offshoot of the House of Wettin - Alexander took the name "Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe". Alexander, his sons and brothers are known as Princes of Sachsen-Gessaphe.
If the Gessaphes are born of dynastically acceptable marriage (and the Margrave, the head of House has obviously accepted it valid), there was no need of any adoption in that regard - the succession follows the succession law. Adoption however is a handy device to convey material properties held by the dynastic head in his capacity of a human being - simlar adoptive arrangements were used for example when childless dynasts of the House of Hesse designated other agnates as their heirs: for example, the private possessions of Grand Dukes of Hesse and by Rhine passed thus through adoption to head of the Hesse-Kassel branch.
At the time it was said that the Princes Albert, Dedo and Gero (1925-2003), the remaining male dynasts of the royal House of Saxony, consented to the margrave's decision; however the margrave's brother Prince Albert has recently stated that he does not accept the decision. Prince Albert currently wants Rüdiger Prinz von Sachsen, the morganatic son of his first cousin the late Prince Timo of Saxony (1923-1982) (and Rüdiger's three sons) to succeed in Saxony. That requires de-morganatization of the late Timo's marriage, an act the remaining agnates of the House of Saxony are entitled to do if they are unanimous (for example, the last surviving male dynast will be entitled to do it through a decision made by himself). Thus, its fate depends on who will be the last surviving male dynasts.
The line of succession within the Saxony-Gessaphe line is:
- Prince Alexander of Saxe-Gessaphe (b. 1954)
- Prince Georg Philipp of Saxe-Gessaphe (b. 1988), hereditary prince
- Prince Moritz of Saxe-Gessaphe (b. 1989)
- Prince Paul of Saxe-Gessaphe (b. 1993)
The latter three ones are Alexander's sons with Gisela. Additionally, they have a daughter, Maria Teresita.
The name Saxe-Gessaphe is used also by Alexander's brothers (younger sons of princess Anna) and nieces (although none of them are officially adopted to the royal House of Saxony; they just have the blood):
- Friedrich Wilhelm de Afif Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe (b.Mexico City 5 October 1955), nicknamed Memo, is a Jesuit and a Catholic priest
- Karl August de Afif Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe (b.Mexico City 1 January 1958), Professor at the FernUniversität (distance teaching university) at Hagen, Dr. iur. habil. (higher Doctorate in Law); and his two daughters:
- Maria Antonia Afif Prinzessin von Sachsen-Gessaphe (b.Munich 7 October 1994)
- Maria Fernanda Desirée Afif Prinzessin von Sachsen-Gessaphe (b.Munich 4 June 1999)
In case of princess Anna's marriage with Roberto de Afif-Gessaphe not having been dynastically acceptable, the next cognatic heir certainly born of dynastical marriage (and thus rival to Alexander; being another potential claimant because of the semi Semi-Salic succession law used in Saxony) would be Frederick William, Prince of Hohenzollern (b 1924) due to him being the son of Princess Margaret of Saxony (1900-1962), the eldest aunt of the Margrave of Meissen. The line of succession after Frederick William, who happens to be in line of succession to the defunct throne of Romania also, can be found here.
