Marianne, Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

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Marianne, Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, born Baroness Maria Anna Mayr-Melnhof, was a German noblewoman, social figure and professional photographer. She lived from 9 December 1919 to 4 May 2025, dying in Munich, Germany at the age of 105.

Early life
She was born in Salzburg, Austria, the eldest of nine children of Baron Friedrich Adalbert Mayr-Melnhof and Countess Maria-Anna von Meran. The Mayr-Melnhof family were Catholic Styrians who had become industrialists and nobles, owning several castles and residences in Austria.

Photography career
Marianne became a professional photographer and built a large archive of about 300,000 photos, a collection she kept up to her 100th birthday in 2019. She photographed celebrities such as Maria Callas, Gianni Agnelli and Luciano Pavarotti, and travelled to document stories. She earned the nickname “Mamarazza” after Princess Caroline of Monaco called her a real paparazzo, but she said she never took intrusive photos and always photographed her friends as friends.

Family
On 12 March 1942, she married Ludwig, the 6th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, at Schloss Glanegg. Ludwig died in 1962. They had five children: Yvonne (Edle von Kronstätt), Alexander (the 7th Prince), Elisabeth (Baroness Schuler von Senden), Teresa (Countess von Kageneck), and Peter (Prince Peter zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn).

Later life and death
Marianne, known as Marianne or Manni, spent her life as a member of the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn family and a prominent social figure. She passed away on 4 May 2025 in Munich, Germany, at the age of 105.