Albert Leopold Friedrich Christian Sylvester Anno Macarius, Prince of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (31 December 1893 – 9 August 1968) was the second son of Frederick Augustus III, the last reigning king of Saxony before the abolition of the monarchy in 1918. Upon his father's death in 1932, he became the head of the Royal House of Saxony. He was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

in the Royal Bulgarian Infantry, and Grand Master of the

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown () or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in the coat of arms of Saxony. It occup ...

, and also a Knight in the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

and Knight Grand Cross in the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

. As head of the

Albertine branch The Albertine branch is a German princely family of the House of Wettin. The name derives from the progenitor of the line, Albert III, Duke of Saxony. The Albertine branch ruled from 1485 to 1918 as dukes, electors and kings in Saxony. History o ...

of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

after 1932, he styled himself as ''Friedrich Christian,

Margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Margraviate of Meissen, Meissen, a March (territorial entity), march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928–29 campaign against the S ...

''.

Life

He was born in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, as the second son of King

Frederick Augustus III of Saxony Frederick Augustus III (; 25 May 1865 – 18 February 1932) was the last King of Saxony (1904–1918). Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the eldest son of King George of Saxony and his wife, Maria Anna of Portugal. Frederick Augustus ...

and his wife

Archduchess Luise, Princess of Tuscany Archduchess Louise of Austria (2 September 1870, in Salzburg – 23 March 1947, in Brussels) was by marriage Crown Princess of Saxony as the wife of the future King Frederick Augustus III. Louise was born in Salzburg to the exiled Grand Duke of ...

August Kotzsch - Bildnis zweier Knaben um 1900

Friedrich Christian was made a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the 1st Royal Saxon Leib-Grenadier Regiment No. 100 at the age of 10, in accordance a family tradition of the

. In 1913, he studied at the Military Academy in

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

on the Western Front. He received several medals for bravery. He was very gifted linguistically and was sent on diplomatic missions to King

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...

, to Sultan

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...

of Turkey and to Emperor

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

. In 1918, Friedrich Christian was one of several candidates to the prospective Kingdom of Lithuania.Senn (1975), p. 36. On 13 November of that year, his father abdicated following the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

's defeat in the

. Friedrich Christian led the Saxon army home from Belgium and France to Germany, where they

demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

. After the end of World War I, he turned to the study of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the universities of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. The subject of his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

thesis was

Nicholas of Cusa Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic bishop and polymath active as a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first Ger ...

, who contributed significantly to the development of canon law in the late Middle Ages. While studying in Breslau, he was a member of the Catholic student union . However, he resigned his membership in 1928 or 1929, because of substantive disagreement. On 9 February 1920, he joined the ''KDSt.V.'' Thuringia Würzburg. Here, he met Elisabeth Helene (1903-1976), a daughter of

Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Albert Maria Joseph Maximilian Lamoral, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (full German name: ''Albert Maria Joseph Maximilian Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis''; 8 May 1867 – 22 January 1952) was the eighth Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Head ...

and his wife

Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria Archduchess Margarethe Klementine Maria of Austria (in German: ''Margarethe Klementine Maria, Erzherzogin von Österreich''; in Hungarian: ''Habsburg–Toscanai Margit Klementina Mária főhercegnő''; 6 July 1870, Alcsút, Austria-Hungary– ...

. Elisabeth Helene was an honorary chairwoman of the Thuringian Lady Student Federation. He married her on 16 June 1923 in Regensburg. After completing his PhD, he became a private teacher of the

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

. Around this time, his father asked him to take up the management of the family holdings in Saxony and Silesia. In 1923, his older brother Crown Prince Georg renounced his succession rights and joined the

Jesuit Order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

. Friedrich Christian thus became

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

, and when his father died on 12 February 1932, he succeeded as Head of the Royal House of Saxony In 1937, the family moved to Wachwitz Castle in

-Wachwitz, where they lived until 1945. The castle survived the

bombing raids A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

in 1945, and Christian Friedrich took in many survivors. Later that year, the family moved via Hof and

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...

, where the two youngest children had been living since 1940. Their close connections to the French, they were able, for instance, to arrange permission for

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

to move to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 1955, their relatives in the

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...

family helped them find a new home in the Harlaching borough of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Here Friedrich Christian, together with his sons Albert and Maria Emanuel, the

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of the Military Order of St. Henry, the Association of People from Dresden, and the Munich chapter of the association of founded the ("Study group for Saxon history and culture"). This study group became one of the largest historical societies in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Had he been King he would have been known as Friedrich Christian I. Friedrich Christian died on 9 August 1968 at

Samedan Samedan (, locally ) is a town and municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grisons. It is served by Samedan railway station on the Rhaetian Railway network and ...

. He was buried outside the Royal Chapel in Königskapelle in Karrösten in North Tyrol.

Marriage and children

Friedrich Christian married on 16 June 1923, at

, Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis (1903–1976), daughter of

and his wife

. They had five children: *

Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (31 January 1926 – 23 July 2012) was the head of the Royal House of Saxony. Life Born at Prüfening Abbey in Regensburg, Bavaria, he was the eldest child of the then Heredita ...

(1926–2012), married in 1962 Princess Anastasia of Anhalt, without issue. *Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1928–2018), not married, had a daughter *Princess Anna of Saxony (1929–2012), married in 1952 Roberto de Afif and had three sons. * Albert, Margrave of Meissen (1934–2012), married in 1980 Elmira Henke, without issue. *Princess Mathilde of Saxony (1936–2018), married in 1968 and divorced in 1993 Prince Johannes Heinrich of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, and had one (now deceased) son.

Ancestry

References

* Albert Herzog zu Sachsen: ''Die Wettiner in Lebensbildern'', Styria-Verlag, Graz, Vienna and Cologne, 1995, * Bäsig, Frank-Michael: ''Friedrich Christian Markgraf von Meißen'', Raute Verlag, Dresden, 1995, *

External links

*
Biographical information

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Christian of Meissen, Margrave Margraves of Meissen 1893 births 1968 deaths House of Wettin Saxon princes Nobility from Dresden German Roman Catholics Lay Dominicans Albertine branch Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Sons of kings Pretenders