Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen
Head of the House of Saxe (Saxony) (1968 – 2012)
Maria Emanuel Prinz von Sachsen Herzog zu Sachsen, also self-styled Markgraf von Meißen (Margrave of Meissen), (31 January 1926 – 23 July 2012) was the head of the House of Saxony.
Life
Born at Prüfening Abbey in Regensburg, Bavaria, he was the eldest child of the then Hereditary Prince Frederick Christian of Saxony, later Margrave of Meissen, and Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis. As German nobility had been constitutionally abolished in 1919, the hereditary titles of descendants of former nobility are unrecognized and instead incorporated into their surnames, hence "Maria Emanuel Prinz von Sachsen Herzog zu Sachsen".
At the age of 18, Maria Emanuel was imprisoned and sentenced to death for opposing Nazi rule. The death sentence, however, was commuted. He next had to escape from the approaching Soviets as his homeland, Saxony, became a part of communist East Germany in the Aftermath of World War II. After the war he moved to Switzerland where he began working in the financial services sector. Also being a talented painter Maria Emanuel had a number of his works exhibited.
Although Marie Vassiltchikov recounts in her book The Berlin Diaries 1940–45 the story of the 16-year-old Maria Emanuel paying her a visit to seek her help in finding a bride, as he felt it was his dynastic obligation to start a family early, Emanuel would not in fact marry until his 37th birthday. His wife was Anastasia (born 1940), daughter of Eduard, Duke of Anhalt; they married (civ.) on 22 June 1962 in La Tour-de-Peilz and (rel.) on 31 January 1963 in Vevey, Switzerland. They had no children.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen” as head of the House of Saxe (Saxony) (1968 – 2012). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as head of the House of Saxe (Saxony) (1968 – 2012). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q64965. VIAF identifies the subject as 71918040. The Library of Congress control number is n2005057722. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926, 2012, 1919 and 1940.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen primary sources, Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen archive and Maria research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.