Prince Albert of Saxony

Prince Albert Joseph Maria Franz-Xaver of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (30 November 1934 – 6 October 2012) was the head of the Royal House of Saxony and a German historian. The fourth child and youngest son of Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen and his wife Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis, he was the younger brother of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, who was his predecessor as head of the Royal House of Saxony. Had he been King he would have been known as Albert II Life Albert received his secondary education at the Federal Gymnasium in Bregenz, Austria. He passed his matura in 1954. His parents and their children then moved to Munich, with support from his mother's relatives from the Thurn und Taxis dynasty. In Munich, Albert studied at the Ludwig Maximilian University. He initially studied macroeconomics, and later switched to history and ethnography. On 13 February 1961, he received his PhD for a thesis on his great-great-grandfather, King John of Saxony, and his reform of Saxon commercial law. On 30 January 1960 the ("Study group for Saxon history and culture") was founded by Albert together with his parents, his elder brother Maria Emanuel, some other Saxon nobles, the Chapter of the Military Order of St. Henry, the chapter of the association of people from Dresden, and the association of Heimatvertriebene in the history department of the University of Munich. This study group became one of the largest historical societies in West Germany. After completing his studies, Albert worked as a historian and referent. He studied the history of the Duchy of Saxony and the Kingdom of Saxony, in particular the relationship of Saxony to Bavaria. At times, he was vice president of the ("Association of Central Germans"). In 1972, he joined the ("Central German Culture Council"), where he represented the interests of the Free State of Saxony.