Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss, Count and Lord of Plauen, Lord of Greiz, Kranichfeld, Gera, Schleiz and Lobenstein (In German: Heinrich XIV Fürst Reuß; born 14 July 1955) is the current Prince Reuss (German: Fürst Reuß) and the head of the Princely House of Reuss.

Background and career
Prince Heinrich XIV was born in Vienna the eldest child and only son of Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss, head of the Reuss-Köstritz branch of the House of Reuss since 1946, and his wife Princess Marie Luise of Salm-Horstmar. The head of the Princely House of Reuss, Heinrich XXLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of the Reuss-Schleiz branch, went missing in 1945 and was declared dead on 5 January 1962 with effect from 31 December 1953 at which point Prince Heinrich XIV's father became head of the entire House of Reuss and Heinrich XIV the Hereditary Prince.

Prince Heinrich XIV grew up at Schloss Ernstbrunn near Vienna in Austria where his father had settled after his property in Bad Köstritz, Reuss had been expropriated in 1945 when it fell into communist East Germany. During his youth Prince Heinrich XIV made a secret trip behind the Iron Curtain to visit his ancestral homeland of Reuss in East Germany.

Growing up surrounded by forests in Ernstbrunn, Prince Heinrich XIV studied for an engineers degree (Dipl Ing) in forestry and operates the Ernstbrunn Wildlife Park in Dörfles as well as an agricultural and forestry business. He has also spent time in the armed forces and is a reservist with the rank of Upper lieutenant.

After German reunification in 1990 Prince Heinrich XIV could officially return to his families ancestral hometown of Bad Köstritz in Reuss, which today forms part of the German state of Thuringia. Upon returning he received an enthusiastic reception from the local population. In the years following reunification the princely family has successfully recovered their land and property which had been expropriated in 1945. Prince Heinrich XVI would establish a farming operation in Bad Köstritz and would commute between Ernstbrunn and his second home in Bad Köstritz on a weekly basis.

Prince Reuss
Prince Heinrich XIV succeeded as head of the House of Reuss upon the death of his father in 2012 and he has been keen to re-establish a presence in Reuss and make the history of the princely family more widely known in the Reuss region. In 2015 he celebrated his 60th birthday, his 20th wedding anniversary, the 18th birthday of his son and heir Hereditary Prince Heinrich XXIX and the 25th anniversary of the founding of his Reuss farming company by hosting over 200 guests at the Princely Park in Greiz, once the capital of the Principality of the Reuss Elder Line.

In August 2022 Prince Heinrich XIV distanced the House of Reuss from the political activities and statements of his distant cousin Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss who was involved with the Reichsbürger movement who reject the legitimacy of the modern German state in favour of the German Empire, stating Prince Heinrich XIII had left the Reuss family association 14 years previously and had had no personal contact for a decade.

In December 2022 after Prince Heinrich XIII was arrested in connection with an alleged armed coup attempt in Germany, Prince Heinrich XIV again distanced himself from Prince Heinrich XIII and expressed dismay that after being seen for 850 years as a tolerant and cosmopolitan princely house the actions of Heinrich XIII had caused the family to be seen all over the world as terrorists and reactionaries.

Marriage and children
Prince Heinrich XIV was married to Baroness Johanna Raitz von Frentz in a civil wedding in Munich on 15 April 1995 followed by a religious wedding in Regensburg 30 April 1995. The couple have four children:


 * Heinrich XXIX, Hereditary Prince Reuss (born 1997)
 * Princess Tatiana (born 2001)
 * Princess Luise (born 2005)
 * Prince Heinrich V (born 2012)

Prince Heinrich XIV was a godfather of Prince Constantin of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1977-2018).

Honours

 * Grand Master of the Cross of Honour of Reuss
 * Knight of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg Order of St John