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, Elder 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-Greiz: The House of Reuss began their rule circa 1010. Heinrich XI, Count Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz (Untergreiz) and Upper-Greiz (Obergreiz) was elevated to princely status in 1778 and then used the title of Prince Reuss, Older Line, or Prince Reuss of Greiz.

Heinrich XXIV, the 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. Instead, a Regent ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913 and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918.

On November 11, 1918, the Regent, Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss of Gera (Younger Line) abdicated in the name of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. After the abdication, Heinrich XXIV retained the right of residence of the Lower Castle in Greiz and lived there until his death. The territory that encompassed the Principality of Reuss-Greiz is now in the German state of Thuringia.

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Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz was born on March 28, 1846, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz now in Thuringia, Germany. He was the second but the eldest surviving of the three sons and the third of the five children of Heinrich XX, 4th Prince Reuss of Greiz and his second wife Princess Caroline Amalie of Hesse-Homburg.

Heinrich XXII had four siblings:

• Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (1840 – 1890), married Prince Hugo of Schönburg-Waldenburg (link in German), one son and three daughters
• Prince Heinrich XXI Reuss of Greiz (born and died 1844)
• Prince Heinrich XXIII Reuss of Greiz (1848 – 1861), died of influenza at age 13
• Princess Marie Reuss of Greiz (1855 – 1909), married Count Friedrich of Ysenburg and Büdingen (link in German), no children

When Heinrich XXII was thirteen-years-old, his father Heinrich XX, 4th Prince of Reuss of Greiz died. He then succeeded his father as the 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. Heinrich XXII’s mother Caroline Amalie was Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz from 1859 until 1867.

As the daughter of an Austrian general, Caroline Amalie had an anti-Prussian attitude. During the Austro-Prussian War, she was on the side of Austria and as a consequence, Reuss-Greiz was occupied by Prussian troops. The Principality of Reuss-Greiz avoided the fate of the Kingdom of Hanover, which was annexed by Prussia, because Karl Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach intervened with his brother-in-law King Wilhelm I of Prussia on behalf of the House of Reuss-Greiz. However, Caroline Amalie had to pay a price. She had to abandon her position as Regent and pay half of the war indemnities with her personal wealth.

On March 28, 1867, Heinrich XXII took over the reins of the government of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. One of his first accomplishments was giving his principality its first constitution with limited parliamentary representation. Being extremely conservative, Heinrich XXII tried to rule with as much absolute power as possible and made Reuss-Greiz a stronghold of orthodox Lutheranism. Throughout his reign, Heinrich XXII remained faithful to the memory of his parents and remained anti-Prussian. The Principality of Reuss-Greiz did join the German Empire in 1871 but Heinrich XXII refused to take part in the proclamation of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France on January 18, 1871.

On October 8, 1872, Heinrich XXII married Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, daughter of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Heinrich XXII and Ida had one son and five daughters:

• Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz (1878 – 1927), unmarried
• Princess Emma Reuss of Greiz (1881 – 1961), married Count Erich von Ehrenburg, had one son and one daughter
• Princess Marie Reuss of Greiz (1882 – 1942), married Baron Ferdinand von Gnagnoni, no children
• Princess Caroline Reuss of Greiz (1884 – 1905), married Wilhelm Ernst, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, no children
• Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (1887 – 1947), married (1) Prince Johann Georg of Schoenaich-Carolath, had three sons and two daughters (2) Wilhelm II, former German Emperor and King of Prussia, no children
• Princess Ida Reuss of Greiz (1891 – 1977), married Prince Christoph Martin III zu Stolberg-Rossla (link in German), had two sons and two daughters

Throughout his reign, Heinrich XXII refused to accept that the Hohenzollern German Emperors had precedence over other German royal houses. He believed Prussia and Reuss-Greiz “were allies for the common defense of the German Federation.” Heinrich XXII refused to allow any official or private mourning when the deaths of the emperors Wilhelm I and Friedrich III occurred. Also forbidden in Reuss-Greiz were any celebrations of the anniversaries of the German victories of 1870. Despite all his reservations about Prussia, Heinrich was a General in the Prussian Army and the head of the 2nd battalion of the 96th Infantry Regiment.

From 1871 to 1873, Heinrich XXII built Jagdschloss Ida-Waldhaus, a hunting lodge in the forest near Greiz. He loved the tranquility of that forest so much that he decided to be buried there. In 1878, Heinrich XXII commissioned Eduard Oberländer, the master builder of Greiz, to build a Gothic-style chapel with a crypt, that was completed in 1883. The Waldhaus Mausoleum (link in German) would first be used for Ida eight years later.

Sadly, on September 28, 1891, Heinrich XXII’s wife Ida died, aged 39, from complications that occurred during the birth of her sixth child, a daughter, named Ida after her. Heinrich XXII wrote to his former mentor Baron Albert von der Trenk, “The sun of my earthly happiness set on September 28.” Henry took Ida’s death as a divine sentence and refused to marry again although he knew that this decision would mean the end of the House of Reuss-Greiz. Heinrich XXII’s only son would be unable to marry and be unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Because of Heinrich XXII’s conservatism, there was no question of changing the family law in favor of the rule of one of his daughters.

Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince of Reuss of Greiz died from heart disease on April 19, 1902, aged 56, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz. He was first buried with his wife Ida in the Waldhaus Mausoleum in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz. By 1969, the Waldhaus Mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and the remains of Heinrich XXII and Ida were taken to Werdau Crematorium, cremated, and placed in urns. The urns were reburied at the Neue Friedhof (New Cemetery) in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany. Since 1997, the resting place of the urns has been at the Stadtkirche St. Marien (link in German) in Greiz.

Heinrich XXII’s disabled son Heinrich XXIV succeeded him nominally as the 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. However, two regents from the House of Reuss-Gera (also called the Younger Line) successively ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913, and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918,  when the monarchy was abolished in 1918 at the end of World War I.

Reuss-Greiz Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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

Works Cited

• Czauderna, H. (2020). Mausoleum Heinrich XXII Greiz – Thüringen: Mausoleum. [online] Thueringen.info. Available at: https://www.thueringen.info/greiz-mausoleum.html [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2020). Heinrich XXII. (Reuß-Greiz). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XXII._(Reu%C3%9F-Greiz) [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2020). Waldhaus (Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldhaus_(Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf) [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XXII,_Prince_Reuss_of_Greiz [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Princess Caroline Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, Princess of Reuss of Greiz. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-caroline-amalie-of-hesse-homburg-princess-of-reuss-of-greiz/ [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2020). Генрих XXII Рейсс. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85_XXII_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%81 [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

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