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Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss
Reuss in 2018
Born	(1951-12-04) 4 December 1951 (age 73) Büdingen, West Germany
Occupation	Real estate developer
Known for	Alleged leadership in 2022 Germany coup d'état plot
Spouse	Susan Doukht Jalali Reuss
Partner	Vitalia B.
Children	Heinrich XXVIII Prinz Reuss Elena Paria Marie Cicil Reuss
Parents	Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz (father) Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg (mother)
Family	Reuss

Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss (born 4 December 1951; German: Heinrich XIII. Prinz Reuß, [ˈhaɪnʁɪç pʁɪnt͡s ʁɔɪ̯s]) is a German aristocrat, businessman and far-right activist. Reuss was arrested by German federal police in December 2022 due to his alleged leadership in the 2022 Germany coup d'état plot.

Biography

Personal life and ancestry

He was born in Büdingen on 4 December 1951 to Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz and Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg, who was in turn the only child of the German colonial politician Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg. Reuss' parents, like all German nobility, had become private citizens in 1919 upon the adoption of the Weimar Constitution, which abolished any privileges and titles that had previously existed for nobility.

The House of Reuss, from which Reuss is descended, dates to the 12th century and historically administered the regions of Gera and Greiz. Heinrich distanced himself from his family around 2009.

Reuss married Iran-born Susan Doukht Jalali in 1989 and they have two children, including a son named Heinrich XXVIII born circa 1991 and a daughter Elena who has Down syndrome and was born in 1989. The couple are divorced. His wife uses the name Princess Susan Reuss and works as a naturopath. She has served as Germany's attaché to UNESCO in support of its program Education for Children in Need. Reuss is also reported to have as a "life partner" a Russian national identified as "Vitalia B." who allegedly had some role in the coup plot.

Buisness and cultural conservation ventures

Reuss worked as a real estate developer, operating a company named Buero Prinz Reuss in Frankfurt, and also produced sparkling wine.

Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, he tried to have properties held by the government returned to his family, including movable property, several townhouses and castles, tracts of forest and farmland, and the Jugendstil Reuss Theater in Gera, then held by the city of Gera. The many artworks the Reuss family obtained brought 3.5 million marks at auction while more than 300 pieces were lent to museums. The mayor of Gera and Reuss were unable to negotiate any further agreement, each blaming the other. Reuss spent much of his fortune on lawsuits seeking restitution, but met with little success. He ended up purchasing Jagdschloss Waidmannsheil in Bad Lobenstein from the government, from which he ran a Hickory golfcourse.

In 2017, he supported the reinternment of the remains of a number of his ancestors, most prominent among them Henry II, Count of Reuss-Gera, in their original location. Their sarcophagi had been moved repeatedly since the church where they were entombed was destroyed in a fire in 1780.

While living in Frankfurt, he began spending weekends in Bad Lobenstein in 2021.

Conspiracy theories and controversy

Reuss has spoken in favour of low flat tax for all citizens, hailing the 10 percent rate in the former Principality of Reuss, saying it let Reuss's citizens lead "happy lives" because it was "straightforward and transparent". Reuss contended that the modern German government and European Union were more distant and inaccessible than feudal princes. Reuss also gave speeches claiming that Germany had been a vassal state since the Second World War. At Worldwebforum in Zürich in 2019 Reuss gave a speech accusing the Rothschilds and Freemasons for the wars of the twentieth century. Speaking in Geneva, he called for "the revival of the legal structures" that existed before 1918, when the abolition of the monarchy "created so much suffering".

In August 2022, Reuss attended a party held in honour of the mayor of Bad Lobenstein, where the family has a castle, who is sympathetic to the Reichsbürger movement and who was accused of assaulting a journalist. Afterwards, the current head of the Reuss family, Heinrich XIV Prinz Reuss [et], objected to his involvement in local politics "in the strongest possible way". He called Heinrich XIII, his third cousin, a "distant relative" and "a confused man peddling in conspiracy theories".

Involvement in 2022 German coup plot

On 7 December 2022, Reuss was arrested at his home in the Westend of Frankfurt during a wide-ranging set of German police raids against alleged far-right conspirators in a planned coup d'état. According to police, the coup's conspirators—which included former Bundestag member Birgit Malsack-Winkemann—were proponents of the Reichsbürger movement who hoped to install the 71-year-old Reuss as head of state. Reuss' estate and golf course in Thuringia allegedly was the site of weapons stockpiles and meetings regarding the conspiracy.

Reuss is also reported to have reached out to the Russian government via its embassy in Berlin, presumably for assistance in the coup, with the helf of his life companion, a Russian citizen named "Vitalia B.". The conspirators allegedly planned to cooperate with Russia, but according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany, there was nothing to suggest that the Russians "reacted positively to his request." A spokesperson from the Russian Embassy in Berlin denied any involvement. Dmitry Peskov issued a statement on 8 December denying the Kremlin's involvement in the failed coup d'état.

Heinrich XIV Prinz Reuss distanced himself and his family again after Reuss was arrested in 2022, calling Reuss "a marginal figure" and noting that their last common ancestor lived in the early 19th century. He said Reuss' behaviour was a "catastrophe" for the family, whose heritage as tolerant and cosmopolitan rulers was now associated with "terrorists and reactionaries". He believes Reuss' anti-government views derive from his resentment at the German judicial system for its failure to recognize his claims to family properties expropriated at the end of World War II.

Notes

1. Heinrich XIV Prinz Reuss, born in Vienna in 1955, has headed the House of Reuss since 2012. He lives in Austria with his wife and four children. After German reunification, his branch of the family won the restoration of some properties that had been expropriated in 1945 and he has maintained a second home in Bad Köstritz. As of 2018, his heir Heinrich XXIX Prinz Reuss, born 1997, planned to make Gera his home.

References

1. ^ Fahey, Ryan (7 December 2022). "Everything we know about German coup leader Prince Heinrich XIII who wants to be king". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
2. ^ "Heinrich XIII, Germany's 'Putsch Prince,' lamented monarchy's demise". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
3. ^ McNaughton, Arnold (1973). The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy. New York City: Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co. p. 345. ISBN 0-8129-0280-7. OCLC 1340410.
4. "Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss: Who is 'ringleader' of German far-right coup plot – and what is the Reichsburger movement?". Sky News. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
5. Murray, Miranda (7 December 2022). "Germany raids far-right group over plot to install prince in coup". Reuters. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
6. Morris, Loveday; Mekhennet, Souad (8 December 2022). "Heinrich XIII, Germany's 'Putsch Prince,' lamented monarchy's demise". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
7. Murray, Miranda (7 December 2022). "Germany foils far-right plot to install Prince Heinrich XIII in coup". Reuters. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
8. "Heinrich XIII. Reuß festgenommen: Wer ist der Prinz, der Scholz ersetzen wollte?" [Heinrich XIII. Reuß Arrested: Who is the Prince who Wanted to Replace Scholz?]. euronews (in German). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
9. ^ "Fürstenhaus Reuss distanziert sich von Weigelt-Gast Prinz Heinrich XIII" [House of Reuß Distances Itself from Weigelt's Guest Prince Heinrich XIII]. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 25 August 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
10. ^ Mischke, Roland (24 December 1998). "Heinrich XIII. Prinz Reuß, Erbe einer 700jährigen Fürstentradition, will Geras Jugendstil-Theater und einiges mehr zurückbekommen: "Ein bißchen mitreden möchten wir schon"". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2022.
11. ^ "Mazda unterstützt UNESCO Attaché Susan Prinzessin Reuss" [Mazda supports UNESCO Attaché Susan Princess Reuss]. Presseportal Mazda Deutschland (Press release) (in German). 26 August 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
12. "Reuss". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
13. "Princess Susan Reuss". Princess Susan Reuss. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
14. ^ Vincent, Isabel (8 December 2022). "Inside royal ties of prince arrested in plot to overthrow German government". New York Post. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
15. ^ Oltermann, Philip (7 December 2022). "Key figures behind alleged far-right plot to overthrow the German government". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
16. Hoffer, Rewert (7 December 2022). "Rothschilds, Freimaurer, Deutschland GmbH: So tickt Heinrich XIII. Prinz Reuss". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2022.
17. ^ Solomon, Erika; Bennhold, Katrin (11 December 2022). "he Prince, the Plot and a Long-Lost Reich". New York Times. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
18. "Reußen-Gruft in Gera soll an historischen Ort zurück" [The Reussen crypt in Gera is to be returned to its historical location]. Die Welt (in German). 29 August 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
19. ^ Marsh, Sarah (7 December 2022). "Heinrich XIII: the prince suspected of plotting to be German kaiser in coup". Reuters. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
20. "Die Abschaffung der Monarchie und der Status der Bundesrepublik Deutschland". YouTube. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
21. "Dieser Mann sollte nach Umsturz Staatsoberhaupt von Deutschland werden" (in German). Focus Online Nachrichten. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
22. Maier-Lorenz, Juliane (19 November 2018). "Fürst Reuß: "Es war klar, dass wir nach Thüringen zurückkommen"" (in German). Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
23. Koity, Marius (25 August 2022). "Nach 'Affäre um Weigelt': Familie Reuß distanziert sich von Prinz Heinrich XIII. 'aufs Schärfste'" [After the 'Weigelt Affair': House of Reuß distances itself from Prince Heinrich XIII in the 'strongest possible terms']. Ostthüringer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2022.
24. Schuetze, Christopher F. (7 December 2022). "What Do We Know About Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
25. Ramirez, Nikki McCann (7 December 2022). "Germany Arrests QAnon-Linked Extremists Over Plot to Topple Government". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
26. Saric, Ivana (7 December 2022). "Germany arrests 25 people over far-right coup plot". Axios. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
27. Bennhold, Katrin; Solomon, Erika (7 December 2022). "Germany Arrests 25 Suspected of Planning to Overthrow Government". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
28. Thorwarth, Katja (10 December 2022). "Prinz Reuß von den "Reichsbürgern" bedient antisemitische Verschwörungserzählungen". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2022.
29. Baumgärtner, Maik; Diehl, Jörg; Höfner, Roman; Knobbe, Martin; Gebauer, Matthias; Großekemper, Tobias; Lehberger, Roman; Müller, Ann-Katrin; Röbel, Sven; Schmid, Fidelius; Wiedmann-Schmidt, Wolf (10 December 2022). "The Motley Crew that Wanted to Topple the German Government". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
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31. Cite error: The named reference lci was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
32. "Haus Reuß schockiert über Vorgänge um Heinrich XIII" (in German). Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.

External links

Media related to Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuß at Wikimedia Commons

• 1951 births
• Living people
• 20th-century German people
• 21st-century German people
• Antisemitism in Germany
• German princes
• Princes of Reuss
• People from Büdingen
• Prisoners and detainees of Germany
• German monarchists
• Far-right politics in Germany
• German conspiracy theorists
• German businesspeople