Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1033

 CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 677

throne, at the death of his father, October 29, 1873. Man*ied June 18, 1853, to Queen Karoline, born August 5, 1833, daughter of Prince Gustav of Vasa.

Sister and Brother of the King.

I. Princess Elisabeth, born February 4, 1830 ; married April 22, 1850, to Prince Ferdinand of Sardinia ; widow February 10, 1855,

II. Prince Georg, Duke of Saxony, born August 8, 1832 ; married May 11, 1859, to Infanta Maria Anna, born July 21, 1843 (died Febniary 5, 1884), daughter of King Ferdinand of Portugal. Offspring of the union are six children : — 1, Princess Mathilde, born March 19, 1863. 2. Prince Friedrich August, born May 25, 1865 ; married November 21, 1891, to Princess Luise of Tuscany, born September 2, 1870. Offspring : Prince Georg, born January 15,-1893 ; Prince Friedrich Christian, born December 31, 1893 ; Prince Ernst Heinrich, born December 9, 1896. 3. Princess Maria Josefe, born May 31, 1867 ; married October 2, 1886, to Archduke Otto of Austria. 4. Prince Johann Georg, born July 10, 1869 ; married April 5, 1894, to Duchess Maria Isabella of Wiirttemberg. 5. Prince I^Iax, born November 17, 1870 ; became a priest July 26, 1896. 6. Prince Albert, born February 25, 1875.

The royal house of Saxony counts amongst the oldest reigning families in Europe. Heinrich of Eilenburg, of the family of Wettin, was Margrave of Meissen 1089-1103 ; he was succeeded by his uncle, Thiemo (1103-1123), and Konrad the Great (1123-1156), well known in Saxon history. The house subsequently spread into numerous branches, the elder of which, called the Ernestine line, is represented by the ducal families of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe- Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Meiningen, and the grand-ducal family of Saxe- Weimar ; while the younger, the Albertine line, lives in the rulers of the Kingdom of Saxony. In 1806 the Elector Friedrich August III. (1763-1827), on entering the Confederation of the Rhine, assumed the title of King of Saxony, which was confirmed in 1815. The predecessors of the present King were Friedrich August I. (1806-1827), Anton (1827-1836), Friedrich August II. (1836-1854), Johann (1854-1873).

King Albert has a civil list of 3,142,300 marks per annum. Exclusive of this sum are the appanages, or dotations of the princes and princesses, amounting annually to (1898-99) 650,039 marks. The formerly royal domains consisting chiefly of extensive forests, became, in 1830, the property of the State.

Constitution and Government.

The present Constitution of Saxony dates from September 4, 1831 ; but has undergone numerous alterations, the last being that of March 28, 1896. The crown is hereditary in the male line ; but, at the extinction of the latter, also in the female line. The sovereign comes of age at the completed eighteenth year, and, during his minority, the nearest heir to the throne takes the regency. The legislature is jointly in the King and Parliament, the latter consist- ing of two Chambers. The Upper Chamber com])rises the princes of the blood royal who are of age ; one deputy of the (Lutheran) archbishopric of Meissen, the proprietor (or one deputy) of the ' Hen'schaft ' of Wildenfels, one of the proprietors of mediatised domains, now held by five owners, one deputy of the University of Leipzig, the two proprietors of ' Standesherr- schaftcn,' the Lutheran * Oberhofprediger ' at Dresden, the Dean of the Roman Catholic Chapter of St. Peter at Bautzen in his character ns ' Apostolic Vicar ' at Dresden, the superintendent at Leipzig, one deputy of the collegiate insti- tution of Wurzon, one of the proi)rietors of four estates in fee ; twelve deputies gleeted by the owners of other nobiliar estates for life ; ten noble proprietors