Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (German: Heinrich VII. Reuß zu Köstritz; 14 July 1825 – 2 May 1906) was a German diplomat.

Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz
Born(1825-07-14)14 July 1825
Klipphausen
Died2 May 1906(1906-05-02) (aged 80)
Trzebiechów
SpousePrincess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
IssuePrince Heinrich XXXII
Prince Heinrich XXXIII
Princess Johanna
Sophie Renate, Princess Heinrich XXXIV Reuss of Köstritz
Prince Heinrich XXXV
HouseHouse of Reuss
FatherHeinrich LXIII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz
MotherCountess Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode

Early life

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Prince Heinrich VII Reuss of Köstritz was born at Klipphausen on 14 July 1825. He was the fifth child and third son of Prince Heinrich LXIII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz and his first wife, Countess Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1801-1827).

Career

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Portrait of Prince Heinrich VII, by William Pape, 1900

From 1845 to 1848 he studied law at Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg and Humboldt University of Berlin. He then joined the 8th Lancers Regiment. From 1853, he pursued a diplomatic career.

From 1854 to 1863 he worked as a diplomat (Legationsrat) in the Prussian embassy in Paris. Then he was sent as Prussian royal ambassador to Kassel, and later to Munich. On 5 February 1868 he was posted as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the North German Confederation to the Russian court at St. Petersburg by William I, who was still King of Prussia at that time. On 26 April 1871 he was designated the first ambassador of the German Empire by William, who had been crowned Emperor a few months earlier.

From 1873 to 1876 he served Emperor William I as adjutant general, and was eventually promoted to General of the Cavalry.[1] In 1876 he married Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. In that same year, the prince became a member of the Prussian House of Lords. In 1877, he was the first imperial ambassador to Constantinople, where he opened the magnificent Embassy building, which he was allowed to set up to his own taste. Just one year later he went as German ambassador to Vienna; this was his last foreign assignment.

In 1894, he retired to his castle in Trzebiechów (German: Trebschen).

Family and issue

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On 6 February 1876, Heinrich VII married Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, daughter of Grand Duke Charles Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. From this marriage, he had the following children:

married in 1920 (divorced 1921) Princess Marie Adelaide of Lippe (1895–1993)
married firstly in 1913 (divorced 1922) Princess Victoria Margaret of Prussia (1890–1923)
married secondly in 1929 (divorced 1935) Allene Tew (1876–1955)
  • Johanna (1882–1883)
  • Sophie Renate (1884–1968)
married in 1909 Prince Heinrich XXXIV Reuss (1887–1956)
  • Heinrich XXXV (1887–1936). He married firstly, Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (1888–1947) on 20 April 1911 in Altenburg. They had one daughter before divorcing in 1921. He married secondly in 1921 (divorced 1923) Princess Marie Adelaide of Lippe (1895–1993)
    • Marie Helene Reuss of Köstritz (b. 23 February 1912, Silesia - d. 1 August 1933, Korfantow)

Prince Heinrich VII died at Trebschen Castle on 2 May 1906.

Honours

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He received the following orders and decorations:[1]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ a b Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1906, p. 42
  2. ^ a b c "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 24, 933, 1014, 1886 – via hathitrust.org
  3. ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Kurfürstlich Hessisches Hof- und Staatshandbuch: 1866. Waisenhaus. 1866. p. 22.
  5. ^ "Königliche Orden", Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (in German), Munich: Druck and Verlag, 1904, p. 25 – via hathitrust.org
  6. ^ "Ludewigs-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1898, p. 13 – via hathitrust.org
  7. ^ "Ritter-Orden: Königlich-ungarischer St. Stephans-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1906, p. 56, retrieved 24 March 2021
  8. ^ Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 5 – via hathitrust.org.
  9. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 15
  10. ^ Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1890), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 45
  11. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1896), "Königliche Orden" p. 29

Literature

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Preceded by German ambassador in Austria
1878-1894
Succeeded by