Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Alexander Ferdinand Fürst von Thurn und Taxis (21 March 1704 – 17 March 1773) was the third Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 8 November 1739 until his death on 17 March 1773. Alexander Ferdinand served as Principal Commissioner at the Perpetual Imperial Diet in Frankfurt am Main and Regensburg for Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1 February 1743 to 1745 and again from 1748 until 1773.

Early life

Alexander Ferdinand was the eldest child and only son of Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of Lobkowicz (1683-1750).

Principal Commissioner

From 1 February 1743 to 1745, Alexander Ferdinand served as Principal Commissioner for Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor at the Perpetual Imperial Diet in Frankfurt am Main. When the Diet relocated to Regensburg under Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Alexander Ferdinand was reinstated as Principal Commissioner in 1748. It was for this reason that Alexander Ferdinand moved the principal residence of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from Frankfurt am Main to Regensburg. On 30 May 1754, Alexander Ferdinand was added to the College of Imperial Princes.

Marriages and family

A proposed bride was Johanna of Baden-Baden (1704–1726), only surviving daughter of the late Margrave of Baden-Baden and his wife (Regent of Baden-Baden from 1707) Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, but the match never materialized. Alexander Ferdinand married Margravine Sophie Christine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, eldest daughter of George Frederick Charles, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and his wife Princess Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, on 11 April 1731 in Frankfurt am Main. Alexander Ferdinand and Sophie Christine had five children: Alexander Ferdinand married secondly Princess Louise de Lorraine (1722-1747), third eldest daughter of Louis, Prince of Lambesc and his wife Jeanne Henriette de Durfort (1691-1750), on 22 March 1745 in Paris, but she died January 6, 1747, without issue. Alexander Ferdinand married thirdly Princess Maria Henriette Josepha of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen (1732-1772), daughter of Joseph Wilhelm Ernst, Prince of Fürstenberg and his wife Countess Theresia Anna Maria Eleonore of Waldstein-Wartenberg (1707-1756), on 21 September 1750 in Regensburg. Alexander Ferdinand and Maria Henriette Josepha had seven children:

Ancestry