Henry Berengar was the eldest legitimate son of Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...

 and his second wife Gertrude von Sulzbach

Gertrude von Sulzbach

Gertrude of Sulzbach was German Queen . She was the second wife of Conrad III of Germany.-Family:...

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He is sometimes numbered as Henry VI, the numeral he would have had had he succeeded to the kingship in full. He was named after his father's maternal grandfather, the Emperor Henry IV

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...

, and his mother's father, Count Berengar II of Sulzbach.

Conrad named Henry as co-king in March 1147 and had him crowned on 30 March in Aachen

Aachen

Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

. Henry was groomed for the succession. In letters to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus and the Empress Irene

Bertha of Sulzbach

Bertha of Sulzbach was the first wife and Empress of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus.-Family:...

, Gertrude's sister, he was thus declared the winning general of the Battle of Flochberg (1150) against Welf VI

Welf VI

Welf VI was the margrave of Tuscany and duke of Spoleto , the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious Italo-German family of the Welf....

 and Welf VII

Welf VII

Welf VII was the only son of Welf VI, Duke of Spoleto and Margrave of Tuscany, and Uta, daughter of Godfrey of Calw, count palatine of the Rhine. He was a member of the House of Welf....

. Henry died in that year and was buried at the monastery of Lorsch

Lorsch

Lorsch is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, 60 km south of Frankfurt. Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey, which has been named a World Heritage Site.-Location:...

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