Princess Alexandra of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

, Countess Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille (Alexandra Rosemarie Ingrid Benedikte; born 20 November 1970), is the first daughter and second of three children of

Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin; 29 October 1934 – 13 March 2017) was the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark. Early l ...

and

Princess Benedikte of Denmark Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid, born 29 April 1944) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second daughter and child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid o ...

, sister of two Queens,

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

and Anne-Marie of Greece.

Succession rights in Denmark

Under the succession rules set by King

Frederik IX Frederik IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Frederik was born into the House of Glücksburg during the reign of his great-grandfather King Ch ...

, since Princess Benedikte and her children, Prince Gustav, Princess Nathalie and Princess Alexandra, have not taken up permanent residence in Denmark, they have effectively waived their place in the line of

succession to the Danish throne The Act of Succession (Denmark), Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X of Denmark, Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. By ...

. Since 19 May 1998, Alexandra has been a

Danish citizen The primary law governing nationality of Denmark is the Danish Citizenship Act (), which coming into force, came into force on 27 May 1950. Regulations apply to the entire Danish Realm, which includes the country of Denmark itself, the Faroe Is ...

First marriage and children

Alexandra was married on 6 June 1998 at

Gråsten Palace Gråsten Palace () is located at Gråsten in the Jutland region of southern Denmark. It is best known for being the summer residence of the Danish royal family. The main house has a modern, all-white facade, with Venetian doors opening onto swe ...

Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (''Jefferson-Friedrich Volker Benjamin Graf von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth''; born 12 July 1967) is a German nobleman and a banker. Early life and ancestry Jefferson is born as the younger son and the y ...

. Jefferson and Alexandra are distantly related, both descending from

Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (10 August 1740 – 9 August 1817), known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1751 until 1807 he was reigning prince of the Principality of Anha ...

. The couple has two children: * Count Friedrich ''Richard'' Oscar Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 14 September 1999 at

Rigshospitalet Rigshospitalet (meaning ''the National'', ''State'', ''Kingdom'' or ''Hospital of the Realm'', but not usually translated) is the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen and the most highly specialised hospital in Denmark. The hospital ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

) * Countess ''Ingrid'' Alexandra Irma Astrid Benedikte von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 16 August 2003 at

) The family lived in Paris, where Count Jefferson was a managing director of the local branch of the bank

Sal. Oppenheim Sal. Oppenheim was a German private banking, private bank founded in 1789 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany. It provided asset management solutions for wealthy individual clients and institutional investors. In 2009, the bank became a subsidia ...

and where she worked at UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. Beginning in 2013, Alexandra and Jefferson lived in Heidesheim Castle, Germany, near

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. The couple announced their intention to divorce in May 2017.

Second marriage

On 18 May 2019, Alexandra married Count Michael of Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille at Sankt Jørgens Kirke in Svendborgsund. He is a member of an ancient

House of Ahlefeldt A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

of German and Danish descent. Count Michael Preben is the only son of Count Claus Christian Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille (Copenhagen, 6 March 1932 - 2014),

Landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

in Havnø Gods, Hadsund, and his second wife (m. Tranekær Kirke, Tranekær, 21 September 1963, divorced in 1971) Countess Merete-Anette von

Lüttichau The House of Lüttichau is an old German nobility, German and Nobility of Denmark, Danish noble family that originated from Meissen, Saxony and belongs to the High nobility, High Nobility. The family has several separate noble branches, primarily ...

, ''née'' Ahlefeldt-Laurvig (b. Rudkøbing, 1 April 1943),

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, who was also her husband's third cousin. She has one sister-in-law, Countess Suzanne Ingrid Jessie Dorthe Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille (b.

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg, , formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark (''née'' Manley; born 30 June 1964), is the former wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of King Frederik X of Denmark. She was born in ...

, who married her third cousin once removed, Erik Ove Carl John Emil Vind til Sanderumgaard (b.

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compr ...

, 5 May 1954), the grandson of Prince Erik of Denmark. They currently live at

Egeskov Castle Egeskov Castle () is located near Kværndrup, in the south of the island of Funen, Denmark. The castle is Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle. History Egeskov was first mentioned in 1405. The castle structure was erected by Frands B ...

, ancestral home and a country residence of the Counts of Ahlefeldt, which is managed by Count Michael Preben, while Princess Alexandra engages herself in drawing, garden designing and art history.

Career

Princess Alexandra worked for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Centre UNESCO Headquarters, or Maison de l'UNESCO, is a building inaugurated on 3 November 1958 at number 7 Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France, to serve as the headquarters for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ...

until 2013, in charge of preserving the cultural heritage of countries in the Middle East and South Asia.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandra Of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Princess 1970 births Living people Nobility from Copenhagen House of Sayn-Wittgenstein House of Ahlefeldt