Alexandra Prinzessin von Hannover

Alexandra Prinzessin von Hannover (née Alexandra Sophie Cecilie Anna Maria Friederike Benigna Dorothea Prinzessin zu Ysenburg und Büdingen; 23 October 1937 – 1 June 2015) was a German politician, philanthropist, and wife of Prince Welf Henry of Hanover. Hannover lastly served as a councilwoman representing the Niederrad district of Frankfurt on the Frankfurt City Council (German: Frankfurter Stadtverordnetenversammlung). She was a member of the Christian Democratic Union political party.

Princess Alexandra of Ysenburg and Büdingen was born on 23 October 1937 in Frankfurt am Main and was the second eldest child and only daughter of Otto Friedrich III, Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen in Wächtersbach and his wife Felicitas Anna Eleonore Cecilie, Princess Reuss of Köstritz.

Alexandra married Prince Welf Henry of Hanover, the fourth son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick and his wife Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, in a civil ceremony on 20 September 1960 at Büdingen, Hesse, and in a religious ceremony on the following day at the Marienkirche in Büdingen. The couple had no children.

She is the aunt of Queen Sofía of Spain and King Constantine II of Greece, and grandaunt of King Felipe VI of Spain. She died on 1 June 2015, aged 77, three days before the death of her sister-in-law, The Dowager Princess of Hanover.

Alexandra represented the Frankfurt district of Niederrad on the Frankfurt City Council since 1980. She lastly served as the Chairwoman of the Culture and Leisure Committee.

Titles and styles

• 23 October 1937 – 20 September 1960: Her Serene Highness Princess Alexandra of Ysenburg and Büdingen
• 20 September 1960– 1 June 2015: Her Royal Highness Princess Welf Henry of Hanover

Alexandra's courtesy title remained Prinzessin Welf Heinrich von Hannover but she was better known by her professional and legal name Alexandra Prinzessin von Hannover with her title as a Princess of Hanover used as her surname.