Henry VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz ' onMouseout='HidePop("89104")' href="/topics/Klipphausen">Klipphausen

Klipphausen

Klipphausen is a municipality in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany.In today's locality Röhrsdorf, Julius Adolph Stöckhardt was born, who helped to establish agricultural chemistry in Germany, initiated the establishment of agricultural experiment stations and was a pioneer of environmental...

 – 2 May 1906, Trzebiechów) was a German diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

.

Life

Prince Henry VII Reuss was born in 1825 as the fifth child and third son of Prince Henry LXIII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

Henry LXIII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

Prince Henry LXIII Reuss of Köstritz was a member of the House of Reuss.- Life :After the death of his elder brother Henry LX he was the senior member of the Köstritz branch of the House of Reuss. He was married twice...

 and his first wife, Countess Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode. From 1845 to 1848 he studied law

Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...

 at Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg and Humboldt University of Berlin

Humboldt University of Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...

. He then joined the 8th Lancers Regiment. From 1853, he pursued a diplomatic career.

From 1854 to 1863 he worked as an advisor in the Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n embassy in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Then he was sent as Prussian royal

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...

 ambassador to Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

, and later to Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. On 5 February 1868 he was posted as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the North German Confederation

North German Confederation

The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...

 to the Russian court at St. Petersburg by William I

William I, German Emperor

William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...

, who was still King of Prussia at that time. On 26 April 1871 he was designated the first ambassador of the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 by William, who had been crowned Emperor a few months earlier.

From 1873 to 1876 he served Emperor William I as adjutant general. In 1876 he married Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was the eldest daughter and second child of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and his wife Princess Sophie of the Netherlands.Through her mother, Marie was second-in-line to the Dutch throne after her nephew William Ernest, Grand...

 and became a member of the Prussian House of Lords

Prussian House of Lords

The Prussian House of Lords was the first chamber of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1850-1918. The second chamber was the Prussian House of Representatives . The House of Lords was created on January 31, 1850 with the adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia...

. In 1877, he was the first imperial ambassador to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, 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

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

; this was his last foreign assignment.

In 1894, he retired to his castle in Trzebiechów , where he died on 2 May 1906.

Descendants

On 6 February 1876, Henry VII married Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was the eldest daughter and second child of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and his wife Princess Sophie of the Netherlands.Through her mother, Marie was second-in-line to the Dutch throne after her nephew William Ernest, Grand...

, daughter of Grand Duke Charles Alexander

Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Karl Alexander August Johann, Grand Duke of Saxony; 24 June 1818 – 5 January 1901) was the ruler of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach from 1853 until his death.-Biography:...

 of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
From this marriage, he had the following children:

• Unnamed son (1877-1877)
• Henry XXXII (1878–1935)

married in 1920 (divorced 1921) Princess Marie Adelaide of Lippe (1895-1993)

• Henry XXXIII (1879–1942)

married firstly in 1913 (divorced 1922) Princess Victoria Margarete 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 Henry XXXIV Reuss (1887-1956)

• Henry XXXV (1887–1936)

married firstly in 1911 (divorced 1921) Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (1888-1947)

married secondly in 1921 (divorced 1923) Princess Marie Adelaide of Lippe (1895-1993)

Sources