Princess Ana Bagrationi-Gruzinski, born 1 November 1976 in Tbilisi, is the eldest child of the late Crown Prince Nugzar Bagrationi-Gruzinski and Princess Leila Kapiani. As the direct descendant of King Giorgi XII, the last reigning monarch of a (de jure) unified Georgia, she represents the uninterrupted continuation of the royal line that historically guided the nation.

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Her professional life has included work in journalism and in the education of Georgia’s next generation. She has consistently shown a commitment to issues affecting vulnerable communities. Through cooperative work with Heifer International and a range of NGOs, she has focused on improving the conditions of internally displaced people and those affected by war, working in partnership with the government of Georgia and the authorities responsible for the Autonomous Region of Abkhazia.

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Princess Ana is mother to Princess Irine (born 2003), Princess Mariam (born 2007), and Prince Giorgi (born 2011). 

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On 12 May 2025, Princess Ana was formally proclaimed Heir to the Throne of Georgia and Head of the Royal House of Georgia, following the death of her father. Her claim rests not only on direct dynastic descent, but also on long-standing Georgian cultural and historical practice. While male heirs were often preferred when available, this was never an absolute rule in Georgia. Crown Prince Nugzar formally named her his Heiress, and upon his passing she assumed headship by right, in accordance with the established Georgian principle of female-line succession known as Zedsidzeoba.

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Zedsidzeoba is a specifically Georgian tradition that predates Western reforms by many centuries. It affirms the right of the eldest daughter of the reigning royal line to inherit dynastic authority when no senior male of that line survives. Through this tradition Georgia has produced some of its greatest rulers, including Queen Tamar, and her daughter Queen Rusudan, as well as powerful female transmitters of dynastic legitimacy such as Princess Gurandukht, Princess Martha, Princess Ketevan, and Princess Darejan.

 

Their standing demonstrates that the transmission of royal authority through women has been not an exception, but a consistent and respected element of Georgian monarchical history.

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By contrast, agnatic primogeniture, the system that prioritises the closest male relative regardless of relevance to the reigning branch is a Frankish and Salic innovation, not a Georgian one.

 

Western European monarchies only began abandoning it as recently as 2013, when Queen Elizabeth II assented to ending male-preference primogeniture in the United Kingdom. Georgia, by its own customs and chronicles, embraced female heirs almost a thousand years earlier.

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Princess Ana continues to work for the cultural, humanitarian, and historical life of Georgia. Her story is ongoing, and her role reflects both the heritage of the kingdom she descends from and the responsibilities she now carries as Head of the Royal House of Georgia.