Heinrich XX, Prince Reuss of Greiz (german: Heinrich XX Fürst Reuß zu Greiz; 29 June 17948 November 1859) was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1836 to 1859.

Early life

Heinrich XX was born at Offenbach,

Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

, younger surviving son of

Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz (german: link=no, Heinrich XIII Fürst Reuß zu Greiz; 16 February 174729 January 1817) was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1800 to 1817. Early life Heinrich XIII was born at Greiz, Reuss, third child of Heinri ...

(1747–1817), (son of

Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz (german: Heinrich XI Fürst Reuß zu Greiz; 18 March 172228 June 1800) was the first Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1778 to 1800. Early life Heinrich XI was born at Greiz, Reuss, youngest child of Count Heinrich ...

and Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz) and his wife, Princess Wilhelmine Louise of Nassau-Weilburg (1765–1837), (daughter of

Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 16 January 1735 – Münster-Dreissen, near Kirchheim, 28 November 1788), till 1753 Count of Nassau-Weilburg, was the first ruler of the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg between 1753 and 17 ...

and

Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau (''Wilhelmine Carolina''; 28 February 1743 – 6 May 1787) was a Dutch regent. She was the daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and Anne, Princess Royal. She was regent of the ...

Prince Reuss of Greiz

At the death of his elder brother on 31 October 1836, Heinrich XX succeeded as the Prince Reuss of Greiz because of the

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...

that applied in the German principalities, his brother had died with no male heir. Heinrich XX kept the principality administration based on absolutist principles at least until 1848 when because of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, was forced to issue a constitution but never came into force. The Prince, however, distinguished himself in military service in favor of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

Marriage

Heinrich XX married on 25 November 1834 at Castle Haid in

Haid Haid may refer to: People * Charles Haid (b. 1943), an American actor and director * Grit Haid (1900–1938), an Austrian stage and film actress, the sister of Liane Haid * Herenaus Haid (1784–1873), a German Catholic clergyman, teacher, catec ...

to Princess Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1809–1838), third daughter of Karl, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and his wife, Countess Sophie Luise of

Windisch-Graetz The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windisch-Grätz, is an Austrian-Slovenian aristocratic family, descending from Windischgraz in Lower Styria (present-day Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia). The noble dynasty serving the House of Habsburg achieve ...

. They had no children. He married secondly on 1 October 1839 in

Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...

to Princess Caroline Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, eldest daughter of

Gustav, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg , title = , image = Porträt Gustav Adolph Prinz zu Hessen-Homburg.jpg , caption = , reign = December 15th 1846–September 8th 1848 , coronation = , predecessor = Philip , successor = ...

, and his wife, Princess Louise of Anhalt-Dessau. They had five children: * Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (25 December 1840 – 4 January 1890); married in 1862 Prince Hugo of

Schönburg-Waldenburg Waldenburg is a town in the district Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. The castle was owned by the House of Schönburg from 1378 until 1945. The pottery town of Waldenburg lies in the valley of the Zwickauer Mulde. The environment is characterized by fo ...

, had issue. * Prince Heinrich XXI Reuss of Greiz (11 February 1844 – 14 June 1844) *

Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz (28 March 1846 – 19 April 1902) was the reigning sovereign of Reuss-Greiz, a small principality of the German states, from 1859 until his death in 1902.Martin (1879), p. 173. Reign Heinrich succeeded as rei ...

(28 March 1846 – 19 April 1902) * Prince Heinrich XXIII Reuss of Greiz (27 June 1848 – 22 October 1861) * Princess Marie Reuss of Greiz (19 March 1855 – 31 December 1909); married in 1875 Count Friedrich of Ysenburg and Büdingen in Meerholz (grandson of

Ernst Casimir II, 2nd Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

), no issue.

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*L'Allemagne dynastique, Huberty, Giraud, Magdelaine, Reference: I 333 *Gehrlein Thomas, The House of Reuss - Older and Younger line Börde Verlag 2006, {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich 20, Prince Reuss Of Greiz 1794 births 1859 deaths People from Offenbach am Main Princes of Reuss Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary