German princess becomes the first aristocrat to appear naked in Playboy

The photoshoot isn't Princess Xenia's first brush with controversy due to her public activities.

Back in 2011, the House of Wettin rejected her assertion to the title after she announced her biography, "Xenia: The Life of a Princess in the 21st Century."

"She is nothing. She can't have a biography," declared Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, head of the defunct dynasty, adding that "this is a dreadful faux pas, a misfortune for the 1,000-year-old House of Wettin."

However, Xenia's lineage traces back to the last King of Saxony, Friedrich August III, making her his great-great-granddaughter, ensuring her continued presence in the limelight due to her royal connections.

Her mother, Iris of Saxony, is the daughter of Prince Timo (1923-1983) of the House of Wettin.

Timo's father, Xenia's great-grandfather, was Prince Ernst Heinrich, married to the Archduchess Luise of Austria and the son of Frederick August III, the last King of Saxony.

Frederick famously abdicated voluntarily in 1918 following Germany's defeat in World War I, after just 14 years on the throne, with the quip: "Oh, well, I suppose I'd better."

Despite criticism regarding Xenia's distant ties to the crown, she has embraced her royal lineage and gained recognition on global platforms.

In 2016, she participated in an Israeli production that assembled celebrity couples for several weeks in a camera-filled intimate space, completing various tasks.

Subsequently, she ventured into dance shows and the German version of "I'm a Celebrity!" in 2021, and most recently, she took on a role in the local soap opera B:REAL last year.

However, fame hasn't always been smooth sailing for the princess, who admits her title has complicated her search for love.

In a 2010 interview with B.Z., she lamented, "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, she often faced intrusive questions about her royal status, yearning to live a normal life.

In 2010, Xenia expanded her quest for love to England, appearing on BBC Three's "Undercover Princess," concealing her celebrity status and living an ordinary life in Essex as 'Gaby from Germany.'

The unique concept placed a group of foreign aristocrats in a scenario where they had to fend for themselves, taking on regular jobs while searching for love in everyday settings.

In her book, Xenia revealed her struggles with familial acceptance, alleging abuse from her father during childhood and recounting how her mother only believed her after seeing evidence presented by the police.

Over a decade ago, Kate Middleton's cousin, Katrina Darling, received a substantial sum to pose in Playboy Magazine in black lingerie, earning her the moniker 'Britain's new burlesque queen' for her provocative spread in the September 2012 issue.