Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line

Heinrich XXVII
Prince Reuss Younger Line
Prince Heinrich XXVII ca. 1913
Born	(1858-11-10)10 November 1858 Gera, Reuss Younger Line
Died	21 November 1928(1928-11-21) (aged 70) Gera, Weimar Republic
Spouse	Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Issue	Viktoria, Duchess Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Luise Adelheid Prince Heinrich XL Prince Heinrich XLIII Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss Younger Line
Names German: Heinrich
House	House of Reuss Younger Line
Father	Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line
Mother	Duchess Agnes of Württemberg

Prince Heinrich XXVII and his wife Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line (German: Heinrich XXVII Fürst Reuß jüngere Linie; 10 November 1858 – 21 November 1928) was the last reigning Prince Reuss Younger Line from 1913 to 1918. Then he became Head of the House of Reuss Younger Line from 1918 to 1928.

Early life

Heinrich XXVII was born at Gera, into the Reuss of Schleiz, younger branch of an ancient House of Reuss, as the eldest child of Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line (1832–1913), (son of Heinrich LXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line, and Princess Adelheid Reuss-Ebersdorf) and his wife, Duchess Agnes of Württemberg (1835–1886), (daughter of Duke Eugen of Württemberg and Princess Helene of Hohenlohe-Langenburg).

Prince Reuss Younger Line

At the death of his father on 29 March 1913 he inherited the throne of the Principality. He also continued as regent of Reuss Elder Line, because of a physical and mental disability of Prince Heinrich XXIV due to an accident in his childhood.

Prince Heinrich XXVII abdicated on 11 November 1918 after the first stage of the German Revolution, likewise all German monarchies which are also abolished (except the last king of Württemberg who abdicated only at the end of the month, on 30 November).

With the death of Heinrich XXIV in 1927, the Elder Line became extinct and its titles passed to Heinrich XXVII, who thus became the sole Prince Reuss.

Marriage and issue

Heinrich XXVII married on 11 November 1884 at Langenburg to Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1864–1929), member of the House of Hohenlohe, second child and elder daughter of Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and his wife, Princess Leopoldine of Baden.

They had five children:

• Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Schleiz (21 April 1889 – 18 December 1918), married in 1917 to Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Governor of Togo. She died on childbirth after giving birth to a daughter:
  • Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg (17 December 1918 – 3 June 2019), married in 1939 to her distant relative, Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Schleiz-Köstritz (1910−1982), adopted son (1935) of her paternal uncle, Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss Younger Line
• Princess Luise Reuss of Schleiz (17 July 1890 – 12 August 1951), never married.
• Prince Heinrich XL Reuss of Schleiz (17 September 1891 – 4 November 1891), died as an infant.
• Prince Heinrich XLIII Reuss of Schleiz (25 July 1893 – 13 May 1912), never married.
• Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss Younger Line (13 May 1895 – 1945), went missing in 1945, declared dead 31 December 1953/5 January 1962.

Death

Heinrich XXVII died in Gera, on 21 November 1928, aged 70. He is buried in the Reuss family mausoleum, in the park of Schloss Ebersdorf, Thuringia, Germany.

Notes and sources

• The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: II 221,223
• Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Reference: 1956