| Alexander Ferdinand | |
| Full Name: | de|Alexander Ferdinand |
| Prince of Thurn and Taxis | |
| Reign: | 8 November 1739 – 17 March 1773 |
| Reign-Type: | Period |
| Predecessor: | Anselm Franz |
| Successor: | Karl Anselm |
| Succession: | Prince of Thurn and Taxis |
| Spouse: | Margravine Sophie Christine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Princess Charlotte Louise of Lorraine Princess Maria Henriette Josepha of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen |
| Issue: | Princess Sophie Christine Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Princess Luise Auguste Charlotte Prince Friedrich August Prince Ludwig Franz Princess Maria Theresia Princess Josephine Prince Heinrich Alexander Prince Franz Joseph Princess Maria Anna Josepha Princess Marie Elisabetha Alexandrina Prince Maximilian Joseph |
| House: | House of Thurn and Taxis |
| Father: | Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis |
| Mother: | Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of Lobkowicz |
| Birth Date: | 21 March 1704 |
| Birth Place: | Frankfurt am Main, Free Imperial City of Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire |
| Death Place: | Regensburg, Free Imperial City of Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire |
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.[1] Alexander Ferdinand served as Principal Commissioner (de|Prinzipalkommissar) 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.[2]
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).
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.
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:
∞ 3 September 1753 Duchess Auguste of Württemberg (30 October 1734 – 4 June 1787)
∞ 1787 Elisabeth Hildebrand, Frau von Train
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:
∞ 20 August 1780 Ferdinand, Count of Ahlefeldt-Langeland (9 May 1747 - 28 September 1815)
∞ 4 November 1790 Karl Joseph, Landgrave of Fürstenberg (26 June 1760 – 25 March 1799)
∞ Joseph, Baron of Lasaberg (died 15 March 1855)
∞ 6 June 1791 Princess Eleonore of Lobkowicz (22 April 1770 – 9 November 1834)
from this marriage the Czech branch of the House of Thurn and Taxis descends