View source for Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

{{Short description|Danish princess (born 1970)}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Princess Alexandra
| title           = Countess Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille
| full name       = Alexandra Rosemarie Ingrid Benedikte
| house           = [[House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg|Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]] (by birth)<br />[[Ahlefeldt]] (by marriage)
| father          = [[Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]]
| mother          = [[Princess Benedikte of Denmark]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1970|11|20|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Copenhagen]], Denmark
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth]]|6 June 1998|2017|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille|Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille]]|18 May 2019}}
}}
| issue  = Count Richard von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth<br />Countess Ingrid von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth
}}
[[File:Schlossmühle_Heidesheim.JPG|thumb|262px|Heidesheim Castle, where Princess Alexandra lived with her first husband Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.waz.de/archiv-daten/article210637101/prinzessin-alexandra-laesst-sich-scheiden.html | title=Prinzessin Alexandra lässt sich scheiden | date=19 May 2017 }}</ref>]]
[[File:Egeskow_castle.JPG|thumb|262px|Egeskov Castle, family estate of the Ahlefeldt family, where Princess Alexandra lives with her second husband Michael<ref>{{cite web | url=https://egeskov.dk/prinsessens-haver/ | title=Prinsessens haver }}</ref>]]
{{Infobox hrhstyles|royal name=Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg|image= [[Image:Dual Cypher of Princess Alexandra and Count Jefferson.svg|160px]]
|dipstyle=[[Highness|Her Highness]]|offstyle=Your Highness}}
'''Princess Alexandra of [[Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]], Countess [[Ahlefeldt (noble family)|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]] and [[Princess Benedikte of Denmark]], sister of two Queens, [[Margrethe II]] and [[Queen Anne-Marie of Greece|Anne-Marie of Greece]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://w.genealogy.euweb.cz/sponheim/sponh10.html | title=Sponheim 10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=HRH Princess Benedikte - The Danish Monarchy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140603221355/http://kongehuset.dk/english/the-royal-house/hrh-princess-benedikte |website=Kongehuset |access-date=9 January 2022 |url=http://kongehuset.dk/english/the-royal-house/hrh-princess-benedikte |language=en |date=3 June 2014|archive-date=2014-06-03}}</ref>

==Succession rights in Denmark==
Under the succession rules set by King [[Frederik IX]], since Princess Benedikte and her children, [[Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg|Prince Gustav]], [[Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg|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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kongehuset.dk/english/the-royal-house|website=www.kongehuset.dk|publisher=Danish Royal Court|title=The Royal House - The Danish Monarchy|access-date=22 December 2013|quote=The throne is inherited in King Christian 10. and Queen Alexandrine's posterity.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208201408/http://kongehuset.dk/english/the-royal-house|archive-date=8 February 2014}}</ref> Since 19 May 1998, Alexandra has been a [[Danish nationality law|Danish citizen]].

==First marriage and children==
Alexandra was married on 6 June 1998 at [[Gråsten Palace]] to [[Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth]]. Jefferson and Alexandra are distantly related, both descending from [[Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I00350491&savedpersonID=I00024441&secondpersonID=I00024441&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=1&generations=8&tree=LEO&primarypersonID=I00350491 | title=Relationship Calculator: Genealogics }}</ref> The couple has two children:

* Count Friedrich ''Richard'' Oscar Jefferson von [[German nobility|Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth]] (born 14 September 1999 at [[Rigshospitalet]] in [[Copenhagen]])
* Countess ''Ingrid'' Alexandra Irma Astrid Benedikte von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 16 August 2003 at [[Rigshospitalet]] in [[Copenhagen]])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00024441&tree=LEO | title=Alexandra, Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg: Genealogics }}</ref>

The family lived in Paris, where Count Jefferson was a managing director of the local branch of the bank [[Sal. Oppenheim]] and where she worked at UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. Beginning in 2013, Alexandra and Jefferson lived in [[:File:Schlossmühle_Heidesheim.JPG|Heidesheim Castle]], Germany, near [[Mainz]].<ref>Article  http://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/region/mainz/vg-heidesheim/heidesheim/13418333.htm [[Allgemeine Zeitung (Mainz)|Allgemeine Zeitung]]</ref> The couple announced their intention to divorce in May 2017.<ref>[http://www.bt.dk/danmark/endnu-en-skilsmisse-rammer-det-danske-kongehus/ Endnu en skilsmisse rammer det danske kongehus] BT.dk, 17 May 2017</ref>

==Second marriage==
On 18 May 2019, Alexandra married [[Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille|Count Michael of Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille]] at Sankt Jørgens Kirke in [[Svendborgsund]]. He is a member of an ancient [[Ahlefeldt (noble family)|House of Ahlefeldt]] of German and Danish descent.<ref>(In French) [http://www.purepeople.com/article/mariage-royal-la-princesse-alexandra-a-dit-oui-au-comte-michael_a337472/1 "Mariage royal : La princesse Alexandra a dit oui au comte Michael", PurePeople] ([[PureMédias]]), 24 May 2019.</ref> 

Count Michael Preben is the only son of Count Claus Christian Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille (Copenhagen, 6 March 1932 - 2014), [[Landlord]] in Havnø Gods, Hadsund, and his second wife (m. Tranekær Kirke, Tranekær, 21 September 1963, divorced in 1971) Countess Merete-Anette von [[Lüttichau]], ''née'' Ahlefeldt-Laurvig (b. Rudkøbing, 1 April 1943), [[nurse]], who was also her husband's third cousin.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg1110.htm#8571 | title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg1110 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I00651651&savedpersonID=&secondpersonID=I00651653&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=1&generations=8&tree=LEO&primarypersonID=I00651651 | title=Relationship Calculator: Genealogics }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg1110.htm#25240 | title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg1110 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File }}</ref> 

She has one sister-in-law, Countess Suzanne Ingrid Jessie Dorthe Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille (b. [[Svendborg]], 4 March 1967),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg296.htm#8575 | title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg296 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File }}</ref> [[lady-in-waiting]] to [[Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg]], who married her third cousin once removed, Erik Ove Carl John Emil [[Nobility of Denmark|Vind til Sanderumgaard]] (b. [[Hellerup]], 5 May 1954),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg2170.htm#47391 | title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg2170 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File }}</ref> the grandson of [[Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg|Prince Erik of Denmark]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I00024441&savedpersonID=&secondpersonID=I00348376&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=1&generations=8&tree=LEO&primarypersonID=I00024441 | title=Relationship Calculator: Genealogics }}</ref> 

They currently live at [[Egeskov Castle]], 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Alexandra_-_til_Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg | title=Alexandra (Til Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg) - lex.dk | date=25 January 2024 }}</ref>

==Career==
Princess Alexandra worked for [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Centre]] until 2013, in charge of preserving the cultural heritage of countries in the Middle East and South Asia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/377524/national-heritage-danish-princess-visits-to-review-unescos-work | title=National heritage: Danish princess visits to review Unesco's work | date=11 May 2012 }}</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=November 2021}}
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg'''
|2= 2. [[Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]]
|3= 3. [[Princess Benedikte of Denmark]]
|4= 4. [[Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]]
|5= 5. [[Margareta Fouché|Margareta Fouché d'Otrante]]
|6= 6. [[Frederik IX of Denmark]]
|7= 7. [[Ingrid of Sweden|Princess Ingrid of Sweden]]
|8= 8. Richard, 4th Prince of [[Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]]
|9= 9. Princess Madeleine of [[Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg]]
|10= 10. Charles Louis Fouché, [[Duke of Otranto|6th Duke of Otrante]]
|11= 11. Countess Madeleine [[clan Douglas#The Swedish-German branch|Douglas]]
|12= 12. [[Christian X of Denmark]]
|13= 13. [[Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
|14= 14. [[Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden]]
|15= 15. [[Princess Margaret of Connaught]]
}}
<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/pedigree.php?personID=I00024441&tree=LEO | title=Pedigree Chart for Alexandra, Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg : Genealogics }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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