A glamorous German princess has become the first aristocrat to take off her clothes for Playboy in a risqué royal sit-down.
Xenia Florence Gabriela Sophie Iris, the Princess of Saxony, will appear topless in tomorrow’s local edition of the lifestyle magazine in a move she hopes will show that ‘every woman is beautiful the way she is’.
The 37-year-old, who claims a link to the 1,000-year-old House of Wettin, said she would be ‘surprised’ if her ancient noble family bought the magazine, but hopes ‘they at least tolerate it’.
Xenia is sure, at least, that her great-great-grandfather, the last King of Saxony Friedrich August III, ‘would have definitely approved’ of her latest photoshoot, she told the magazine.
He ‘was described to me as very humorous and loving,’ she explained in her poolside chat.
The raunchy photoshoot is the latest in a string of unorthodox media appearances for the outspoken singer and columnist who has rattled her royal rivals in the past with her claim to fame.
But Xenia stands proud in a bold interview with the magazine, acknowledging she ‘fights prejudice all day long’ because of her title – but sees it ultimately as a ‘blessing’ to make the most of.
The front cover of tomorrow’s edition of Playboy Germany, featuring Princess Xenia
Princess Xenia poses for Playboy in a shocking poolside shoot to feature in tomorrow’s edition
The photoshoot is not the first time the Princess Xenia has stirred controversy for her public exploits.
In 2011, the House of Wettin itself rejected her claim to the title after she announced her biography: Xenia: The Life of a Princess in the 21st Century.
‘She is a nothing. She can’t have a biography,’ said the defunct dynasty’s head, Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, adding that ‘this thing is a dreadful faux pas, a misfortune for the 1,000-year-old House of Wettin’.
But Xenia is provably the great-great-granddaughter of the last King of Saxony, Friedrich August III – and has remained in headlines for her royal links.
Her mother, Iris of Saxony, is daughter of the House’s Prince Timo (1923-1983).
Timo’s father – Xenia’s great-grandfather – was Prince Ernst Heinrich, husband to the Archduchess Luise of Austria, and son of Frederick August III, the last King of Saxony.
Frederick voluntarily abdicated in 1918 after Germany’s defeat in World War I after just 14 years on the throne, famously judging: ‘Oh, well, I suppose I’d better.’
Despite the criticism leveled against Xenia for her tentative connection to the crown, the princess has embraced her royal connection and made a name for herself on global shows.
In 2016 she appeared on an Israeli production that brought together celebrity lovers to share several weeks in an intimate space, surrounded by cameras while completing various tasks.
She soon moved on to appearances on dance shows and the German version of I’m a Celebrity! in 2021, most recently taking a role in the local soap B:REAL last year.
But fame has not always been easy for the princess, who says her title has got in the way of finding her Prince Charming.
In a 2010 interview with B.Z. she said: ‘I’ve actually been single since I was born. After a short time, everyone turned out to be bad guys.’
The daughter of a farmer and a hairdresser said at the time she often found herself on the receiving end of intrusive questioning: ‘Where is your crown, your castle, your dress…’
She ‘just wants to be a normal girl’ the outlet concluded.
The same year, Xenia broadened her search for love to England, where she appeared on BBC Three’s Undercover Princess, hiding her celebrity status and living a more pedestrian life in a house share in Essex as ‘Gaby from Germany’.
The quite brilliant concept left a group of foreign aristocrats to ‘fend for themselves’, taking ‘ordinary jobs’ in a hairdressing salon, a café and a cricket shop as the ‘trawled the pubs, clubs and supermarkets of Essex for “the one”‘.
Xenia, then 22, struggled to choose between suitors and returned to Germany without a new prince at the end of five hour-long episodes.
In her book, she wrote openly about how her father refused to acknowledge her as his daughter until he was presented with evidence.
Xenia also alleged that her father abused her as a child and forced her to pose for inappropriate photographs.
She wrote that her mother was convinced only after the police showed her evidence.
The princess, who has not always seen eye-to-eye with her fellow nobles, hopes her family will be understanding and ‘at least tolerate’ her latest stunt
The princess Xenia of Saxony, a popular German icon who has appeared in various media
The princess once appeared on a BBC show set in a house-share in Essex
More than a decade ago, the cousin of Kate Middleton was also paid a six-figure sum to appear in Playboy Magazine in black lingerie.
Katrina Darling posed on the cover of the September 2012 issue, dubbed ‘Britain’s new burlesque queen’.
The provocative performer, who is originally from Sunderland, appears in an eight page spread in the magazine, including striking a sultry pose as she lies topless on a sheepskin rug.
Other motifs exclusively available at: https://www.playboy.de/coverstars/xenia-prinzessin-von-sachsen-maerz-2024