en, Albert William Henry , image = Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929), brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II.jpg , caption = , birth_date= , birth_place=

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...

, spouse = , house = Hohenzollern , father =

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known inform ...

, mother =

Victoria, Princess Royal Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; 21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901) was German Empress and Queen of Prussia as the wife of German Emperor Frederick III. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Ki ...

, issue = Prince Waldemar
Prince Sigismund
Prince Henry , death_date = , death_place = Schloss Hemmelmark,

Barkelsby Barkelsby ( da, Barkelsby) is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most popul ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Weimar Republic The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...

, burial_date = 24 April 1929 , burial_place = Schloss Hemmelmark, Barkelsby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany , module = Prince Albert William Henry of Prussia (german: Albert Wilhelm Heinrich; 14 August 1862 – 20 April 1929) was a younger brother of German Emperor William II and a

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

. He was also a grandson of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. A career naval officer, he held various commands in the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

and eventually rose to the rank of

Grand Admiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual ...

and

Generalinspekteur der Marine The Generalinspekteur der Marine (Inspector-General of the Navy) was a position in the government of the German Empire. It was founded in 1871 as the command authority of the German Imperial Admiralty and lasted intermittently to 1919. The first ...

Biography

Born in

, Prince Henry was the third child and second son of eight children born to Crown Prince Frederick William (later Emperor Frederick III), and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (later Empress Victoria and in widowhood Empress Frederick), eldest daughter of the British

. Henry was three years younger than his brother, the future Emperor William II (born 27 January 1859). He was born on the same day as King Frederick William I "Soldier-King" of Prussia. After attending the gymnasium in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2 ...

, which he left in the middle grades in 1877, the 15-year-old Henry entered the Imperial Navy cadet program. His naval education included a two-year voyage around the world (1878 to 1880), the naval officer examination (''Seeoffizierhauptprüfung'') in October 1880, and attending the German naval academy (1884 to 1886). Prince Henry of Prussia visiting Hawaii in 1879

Prince Henry of Prussia visiting Hawaii in 1879

Early commands

As an imperial prince, Henry quickly achieved command. In 1887, he commanded a torpedo boat and simultaneously the First Torpedo Boat Division; in 1888 the Imperial yacht '' SMY Hohenzollern''; from 1889 to 1890 the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...

, the coastal defense ship , the ironclad and the

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prot ...

Squadron commands

From 1897, Prince Henry commanded several naval task forces; these included an improvised squadron that took part with the East Asia Squadron in consolidating and securing the German hold on the region of Kiaochow and the port of

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means "azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Bel ...

in 1898. The prince's success was more of the diplomatic than the military variety; he became the first European potentate ever to be received at the Chinese imperial court. In 1899 he became officially the commander of the East Asia Squadron, later of a capital-ship squadron and in 1903 commander of the Baltic Sea naval station. From 1906 to 1909, Henry was commander of the High Seas Fleet. In 1909, he was promoted to Grand Admiral.

World War I

At the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Prince Henry was named Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. Although the means provided to him were far inferior to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

, he succeeded, until the 1917 Revolution, in putting Russian naval forces far on the defensive and hindered them from making attacks on the German coast. After the end of hostilities with Russia, his mission was ended, and Prince Henry simply left active duty. With the war's end and the dissolution of the monarchy in Germany, Prince Henry left the navy.

Family

On 24 May 1888, Henry married

Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine Princess Irene Luise Marie Anne of Hesse and by Rhine (11 July 1866 – 11 November 1953) was the third child and third daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. Her maternal grandparents were ...

, his first cousin. His dying father, German Emperor Frederick III and his mother Empress Victoria were in attendance. The marriage produced three children: Prince Heinrich of Prussia with family

Their sons Waldemar and Heinrich were both hemophiliacs, a disease which they inherited through Irene from the maternal grandmother of both of their parents,

, who was a carrier.

Personality and private life

Henry received one of the first pilot's licenses in Germany, and was judged a spirited and excellent seaman. He was dedicated to modern technology and was able to understand quickly the practical value of technical innovations. A

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called '' yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboat ...

enthusiast, Prince Henry became one of the first members of the Yacht Club of Kiel, established by a group of naval officers in 1887, and quickly became the club's patron. Henry was interested in motor cars as well and supposedly invented a windshield wiper and, according to other sources, the car horn. In his honor, the '' Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt'' (Prince Heinrich Tour) was established in 1908, like the earlier

Kaiserpreis The Kaiserpreis (german: Emperor's Prize) auto race, named after Emperor Wilhelm II, was held in 1907. Like his brother's Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt held from 1908 to 1911, it was a precursor to the German Grand Prix. As Camille Jenatzy had won the Gord ...

a precursor to the German Grand Prix. Henry and his brother William gave patronage to the Kaiserlicher Automobilclub (Imperial Automobile Club). From 1911 to 1914 the British car makers

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...

produced a model, the C-10, which was called the "

Vauxhall Prince Henry The Vauxhall Prince Henry was a car manufactured by Vauxhall from 1911 to 1914. It had a length of around and a weight of depending on the model and the coachwork fitted. It is often thought of as the first sports car insofar as its high perf ...

" in his honour after initially being built for participation in the 1911 race. After the German Revolution, Henry lived with his family in Hemmelmark near

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is a ...

, in

. He continued with motor sports and sailing and even in old age was a very successful participant in regattas. He popularized the '' Prinz-Heinrich-Mütze'' ("Prince Henry cap"), which is still worn, especially by older sailors. In 1899, Henry received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Engineering ''honoris causa'') from the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

. Also in foreign countries he received numerous similar honors, including an honorary doctorate ( LL.D.) from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in March 1902, during his visit to the United States. Prince Henry died of throat cancer, as his father had, in Hemmelmark on 20 April 1929. George Burroughs Torrey painted a portrait of him.

Naval career and advancement

* Unterleutnant zur See, 14 August 1872; Basic Training and Naval Academy 1877-1878 * Leutnant zur See, 18 October 1881; Training Cruises and Naval Academy 1878-1882 * Kapitänleutnant, 18 October 1884; Executive Officer, ironclad corvette , 1886 * Korvettenkapitän, 18 October 1887; Commander, 1st Torpedo Boat Division, 1887; Commander, Imperial Yacht '' SMY Hohenzollern'', 1888 * Kapitän zur See, 27 January 1889; Commander, protected cruiser , 1889–1890; Commander, Armored Coastal Defense Ship ''

SMS Beowulf SMS was the second vessel of the six-member of coastal defense ships () built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were , , , , and . was built by the AG Weser shipyard between 1890 and 1892, and was armed with a main battery of t ...

'', 1892; Commander, ironclad corvette , 1892–1894; Commander, pre-dreadnought battleship , 1894–1895 * Konteradmiral, 15 September 1895; Commander, 2nd Division, 1st Battle Squadron, 1896–1897; Commander, 2nd Division, Cruiser Squadron, 1897–1899 * Vizeadmiral, 5 December 1899; Commander, Cruiser Squadron, 1899–1900; Commander, 1st Battle Squadron, 1900–1903 * Admiral, 13 September 1901; Commanding Admiral, Baltic Sea Naval Command, 1903–1906, Commander, High Seas Fleet, 1906–1909 * Großadmiral, 4 September 1909; Inspector General of the Imperial Navy, 1909–1918; Commander-in-Chief, Baltic Fleet, 1914–1918

Regimental commissions and honorary ranks

German

* 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß (Royal Prussian 1st Regiment of Foot Guards) – Leutnant (Second Lieutenant) through Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls (Colonel-General in the Rank of Field Marshal), 1871 - 1918
Handbuch über den Königlich Preussischen Hof und Staat
', 1908, p. 2 * Kgl. Sächs. 2. Grenadier-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen Nr. 101 (Royal Saxon 2nd Grenadier Regiment) * Kgl. Bayerisches Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 8 (Royal Bavarian 8th Artillery Regiment) – Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls and Chef (Colonel in Chief) * 1. Großherzogl. Hessisches Feldartilleree-Regiment 25 (Grand Duchy of Hesse 2nd Artillery Regiment) * Fußilier-Regiment “Prinz Heinrich von Preußen” (Brandenburgisches) Nr 35 (The Brandenburg Fusilier Regiment) - Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls and Chef (Colonel in Chief)

Foreign

* Austria-Hungary: K.u.K. Infantry Regiment Nr. 20 – Oberstinhaber (Colonel in Chief) * Austria-Hungary:

K.u.K. Kriegsmarine The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Au ...

(Navy) – Vizeadmiral (vice admiral) ** Austria-Hungary: K.u.K. Kriegsmarine - Konteradmiral (rear-admiral) 1899 * United Kingdom:

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

– Admiral (Honorary) 13 September 1901 ** Royal Navy - Vice-Admiral (Honorary) 5 February 1901. * Russian Empire: Imperial Dragoon Regiment Nr. 33 – Colonel

Honours

;National
Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat
' (1918), Genealogy p. 3 ;Foreign

Honorary degrees and offices

* Freedom of the City of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 25 February 1902, during his visit to the city. *Freedom of the City of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 10 March 1902, during his visit to the city. * Honorary doctorate ( LL.D.) from

, 6 March 1902.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich Of Prussia, Prince 1862 births 1929 deaths Military personnel from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Grand admirals of the Imperial German Navy Prussian princes Naval aviators Colonel generals of Prussia 19th-century Prussian military personnel Sons of emperors Deaths from esophageal cancer Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I German expatriates in China Deaths from cancer in Germany Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Grand Crosses of Naval Merit Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Kalākaua Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania 2 2 Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Knights of the Order of Saint Joseph People stripped of a British Commonwealth honour Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Children of Frederick III, German Emperor Sons of kings