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Prince Heinrich of Prussia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the brother of King Frederick II of Prussia, see Prince Henry of Prussia (1726-1802).
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Heinrich (born Albert Wilhelm Heinrich, August 14, 1862 – April 20, 1929), sometimes known as Henry, was a younger brother of Emperor William II of Germany and a Prince of Prussia. A career naval officer, he held various commands in the Imperial German Navy and eventually rose to the rank of Grand Admiral.
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Born in Berlin, Prince Heinrich of Prussia was the third of eight children born to Crown Prince Frederick (later Emperor Frederick III), and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (later Empress Victoria and in widowhood Empress Frederick), a daughter of the British Queen Victoria. Heinrich was three years younger than his older brother, the future Emperor Willliam II (born January 27, 1859).
On May 24, 1888, Heinrich married Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, his first cousin. The marriage produced three children:
- Prince Waldemar Wilhelm Ludwig Friedrich Viktor Heinrich of Prussia (20 March 1889 - 2 May 1945)
- Prince Wilhelm Viktor Karl August Heinrich Sigismund of Prussia (27 November 1896 - 14 November 1978)
- Prince Heinrich Viktor Ludwig Friedrich of Prussia (9 January 1900 - 26 February 1904)
Their sons Waldemar and Heinrich were both hemophiliacs.
After attending the gymnasium in Kassel, which he left in the middle grades in 1877, the 15-year-old Heinrich entered the Imperial Navy and was trained as an officer. His naval education included a two-year voyage around the world (1878 to 1880), the naval officer examination [Seeoffizierhauptprüfung] on October 1, 1880, and later (1884 to 1886) attendance at the German naval academy. Students were supposed to graduate during the winter months, following the period of actual duty.
As an imperial prince, Heinrich quickly achieved command. In 1887, he commanded a torpedo boat (in 1887) and simultaneously the First Torpedo Boat Division; in 1888 the imperial yacht SMY Hohenzollern; from 1889-1890 the second-class cruiser Irene, the armored coastal defense ship Beowulf, and the capital ships SMS Sachsen (1877) and SMS Wörth.
From 1897 Prince Heinrich commanded several naval task forces; these included, at first, an improvised squadron that took part with the East Asia Squadron in suppressing the unrest in the Chinese region of Kiautschou and then took the port of Tsingtao into the possession of the German Empire (1897). The prince’s success was more of the diplomatic than the military variety. Thus he became the first European potentate ever to be received at the Chinese imperial court. In 1899 he became officially the commander of the East Asia Squadron, later of a capital-ship squadron and in 1903 commander of the Baltic Sea naval station. From 1906 to 1909, Heinrich was commander of the High Seas Fleet. In 1909, he was promoted to Grand Admiral.
At the beginning of World War I, Prince Heinrich was named Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. Although the means provided him were far inferior to Russia’s Baltic Fleet, he succeeded, until the 1917 Revolution, in putting Russia’s naval forces far on the defensive, and hindered them from making attacks on the German coast. After the end of hostilities with Russia, his mission was ended, and Prince Heinrich simply left active duty. With the war’s end and the dissolution of the monarchy in Germany, Prince Heinrich left the Navy.
Heinrich had little in common with his brother, the German Emperor. He lacked, for example, William's erratic nature and egotism. The prince was truly popular in Northern Germany, and on account of his humble and open manner was beloved by those under his command. On foreign travels he was a good diplomat, who, unlike his brother, was able to strike the right tone. Thus, on his 1902 trip to the United States, Heinrich succeeded in winning the sympathy of critical American press as well as the hearts of more than just the numerous German-American population.
As a naval officer, Heinrich had a profession that completely satisfied him and that he loved. He was thoroughly a pragmatist. He received one of the first pilot’s licenses in Germany, and was judged a spirited and excellent seaman. He was dedicated to modern technology and was able to understand quickly the practical value of technical innovations.
Heinrich was interested in motor cars and supposedly invented a windshield wiper and, according to other sources, the car horn. In his honor, the Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt (Prince Heinrich Tour) was established in 1908, like the earlier Kaiserpreis a precursor to the German Grand Prix.
Heinrich also was an early proponent of introducing submarines and airplanes. In the Baltic Sea, he had a steamship converted into an aircraft carrier, in order to attack Russia with naval air forces.
Heinrich respected his brother, but this attitude was not returned in the same measure. Certainly William was intellectually superior.[citation needed] He kept his younger brother far from politics, although Heinrich served as his representative as long as the Crown Prince was still in his minority. Heinrich complied with this, for he did not interest himself in either politics or grand strategy. He did not recognize what political effect the German naval build-up would entail, and also would not have been in the position to move his brother toward a different policy.
After the German Revolution, Heinrich lived with his family in Hemmelmark near Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein. He continued with motor sports and sailing and even in old age was a very successful participant in regattas. He popularized the headgear known as the Prinz-Heinrich-Mütze ("Prince Heinrich cap") --an item of apparel still worn, and especially beloved among older sailors.
In 1899, Heinrich received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Engineering honoris causa) from the Technical University of Berlin. Also in foreign countries he received numerous similar honors, including an honorary doctorate in 1902 from Harvard University.
Prince Heinrich died of throat cancer, as his father had, in Hemmelmark on April 20, 1929.
Harald Eschenburg. Prinz Heinrich von Preußen - Der Großadmiral im Schatten des Kaisers. Heide, 1989, ISBN 3-8042-0456-2. [Translation of title: Prince Heinrich of Prussia - The Grand Admiral in the Shadow of the Emperor.]
- Heinrich Albert Wilhelm, Prinz von Preußen (In German)
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