by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Note about the Reuss numbering system: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz (Older Line), the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera (Younger Line), the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of the century before starting again at 1. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

Principality of Reuss-Gera: The House of Reuss began their rule circa 1010. Heinrich XLII became Count of Reuss-Schleiz in 1784, and then also became Count of Reuss-Gera in 1802. In 1806,  the united county was raised to the Principality of Reuss-Gera or Reuss Younger Line.  Between 1824 and 1848, the senior line of Gera gradually combined the territory of the surviving cadet branches (Lobenstein, Köstritz, and Ebersdorf).

On November 11, 1918, Heinrich XXVII abdicated his position as 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and as Regent abdicated for the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII and granted him some castles and land. The territory encompassing the Principality of Reuss-Gera is now located within the German state of Thuringia.

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Heinrich XXVII, 5th Prince Reuss of Gera, the last reigning Prince of the Principality of Reuss-Gera, was born on November 10, 1858, in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany. He was the eldest of the two children and the only son of Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera and Duchess Agnes of Württemberg.

Heinrich XXVII had one sibling, a younger sister:

• Princess Elisabeth Reuss of Gera (1859 – 1951), married Prince Hermann of Solms-Braunfels (link in German), had four daughters and two sons

Heinrich XXVII had one half-brother, born to Friederike Graetz in 1875. In 1890, four years after his mother died, Heinrich XXVII’s father morganatically married Friederike Graetz and gave her the title of Baroness von Saalburg. Heinrich XXVII’s half-brother was then styled as Baron von Saalburg.

• Baron Heinrich von Saalburg (1875 – 1954), married Margarethe Groenwoldt, no children

Heinrich XXVII studied at the Witzum Gymnasium (in the German education system the most advanced of the three types of German secondary schools) in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. From 1879 – 1880, he studied at the University of Bonn and the University of Leipzig. After completing his studies, Heinrich XXVII joined the Prussian Army as an officer of the Hussar Regiment of the Life Guards. He later became a captain and led the squadron. Heinrich XXVII retired from active duty in 1891 and was taken over into the officers à la suite, princes and generals who were given a special honor. He was entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In 1911, he was given the unpaid honorary title of General of the Cavalry. During World War I, Heinrich XXVII was assigned to the general command of the XI Army Corps of the German Army.

On November 11, 1884, Heinrich XXVII married Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the daughter of Hermann, 6th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Leopoldine of Baden. Elise’s paternal grandmother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Heinrich XXVII and Elise had five children:

• Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera (link in German) (1889 – 1918) married Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Viktoria Feodora died in childbirth a day after giving birth to her only child, a daughter
• Princess Luise Adelheid Reuss of Gera (1890 – 1951), unmarried
• Prince Heinrich XL Reuss of Gera (born and died 1891)
• Prince Heinrich XLIII Reuss of Gera (1893 – 1912), died at age 18
• Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera (1895 – 1945), unmarried

In 1902, the father of Heinrich XXVII, Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera became the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. Heinrich XXIV, 6th and last Prince Reuss of Greiz succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Heinrich XIV was the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz until his death in 1913.

Upon the death of his father on March 29, 1913, Heinrich XXVII became the 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. His reign was only five years long. After the German defeat in World War I, on November 11, 1918, Heinrich XXVII abdicated his position as 5th Prince Reuss of Gera and as Regent abdicated for the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII that granted him some castles and land. The territory encompassing the Principality of Reuss-Gera is now located within the German state of Thuringia.

After his abdication, Heinrich XXVII continued to live with his family at Schloss Osterstein (link in German) in Gera. When the disabled Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last Prince Reuss of Greiz died in 1927, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and any claims to titles passed to Heinrich XXVII. Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera died at the age of 70 on November 21, 1928, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Germany. His wife Elise survived her husband by only four months. Both were buried in the family cemetery in the Park of Schloss Ebersdorf (link in German), now in Saalburg-Ebersdorf in Thuringia, Germany.

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Reuss-Gera Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Principality of Reuss-Gera Index
• Profiles: Reuss-Gera Rulers and Consorts
• Royal Burial Sites of the Principality of Reuss-Gera

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Heinrich XXVII. (Reuß Jüngere Linie). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XXVII._(Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie)> [Accessed 22 March 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XXVII,_Prince_Reuss_Younger_Line> [Accessed 22 March 2020].
• Uk.wikipedia.org. 2020. Генріх XXVII (Князь Ройсс-Ґери). [online] Available at: <https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%80%D1%96%D1%85_XXVII_(%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8C_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%81-%D2%90%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8)> [Accessed 22 March 2020].