Prince Heinrich of Prussia (14 August 1862 – 20 April 1929) was a younger brother of German Emperor Wilhelm II and a Prince of Prussia. Through his mother, he was also a grandson of Queen Victoria. A career naval officer, he held various commands in the Imperial German Navy and eventually rose to the rank of Grand Admiral and the office of Inspector General of the Navy.

Biography

Born in Berlin, Prince Heinrich was the third child and second son of eight children born to Crown Prince Frederick William (later Emperor Frederick III), and Victoria, Princess Royal (later Empress Victoria and in widowhood Empress Frederick), eldest daughter of the British Queen Victoria. Henry was three years younger than his brother, the future Emperor William II (born 27 January 1859). He was born on the same day as King Frederick William I "Soldier-King" of Prussia. After attending the gymnasium in Kassel, which he left in the middle grades in 1877, the 15-year-old Heinrich entered the Imperial Navy cadet program. His naval education included a two-year voyage around the world (1878–1880), the naval officer examination (Seeoffizierhauptprüfung) in October 1880, and attending the German naval academy (1884–1886).

Early commands

As an imperial prince, Henry quickly achieved command. In 1887, he commanded a torpedo boat and simultaneously the First Torpedo Boat Division; in 1888 the Imperial yacht SMY Hohenzollern; from 1889 to 1890 the protected cruiser SMS Irene, the coastal defense ship SMS Beowulf, the ironclad SMS Sachsen and the pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Wörth.

Squadron commands

From 1897, Prince Henry commanded several naval task forces; these included an improvised squadron that took part with the East Asia Squadron in consolidating and securing the German hold on the region of Kiaochow and the port of Tsingtao in 1898. The prince's success was more of the diplomatic than the military variety; 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, Henry was commander of the High Seas Fleet. In 1909, he was promoted to Grand Admiral.

World War I

At the beginning of World War I, Prince Henry was named as Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. Although the means provided to him were far inferior to Russia's Baltic Fleet, he succeeded, until the 1917 Revolution, in putting Russian 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 Henry simply left active duty. With the war's end and the dissolution of the monarchy in Germany, Prince Henry left the navy.

Family

On 24 May 1888, Henry married Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, his first cousin. His dying father, German Emperor Frederick III and his mother Empress Victoria were in attendance. The marriage produced three children: Their sons Waldemar and Heinrich were both hemophiliacs, a disease which they inherited through Irene from the maternal grandmother of both of their parents, Queen Victoria, who was a carrier.

Personality and private life

Henry 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. A yachting enthusiast, Prince Henry became one of the first members of the Yacht Club of Kiel, established by a group of naval officers in 1887, and quickly became the club's patron. Henry was interested in motor cars as well 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. Henry and his brother William gave patronage to the Kaiserlicher Automobilclub (Imperial Automobile Club). From 1911 to 1914 the British car makers Vauxhall Motors produced a model, the C-10, which was called the "Vauxhall Prince Henry" in his honour after initially being built for participation in the 1911 race. After the German Revolution, Henry 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 Prince Henry cap, which is still worn, especially by older sailors. In 1899, Henry received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Engineering honoris causa) from the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin). Also in foreign countries he received numerous similar honors, including an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) from Harvard University in March 1902, during his visit to the United States. Prince Henry died of throat cancer on 20 April 1929 in Hemmelmark. George Burroughs Torrey painted a portrait of him.

Naval career and advancement

Regimental commissions and honorary ranks

German

Foreign

Honours

• Prussia: • * Knight of the Black Eagle, 14 August 1872; with Collar, 1881 • * Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, 1872 • * Knight of the Royal Crown Order, 1st Class, 14 August 1872 • * Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 14 August 1872 • * Knight of Justice of the Johanniter Order • * Long Service Award • * Pour le Mérite (military), 1 August 1916; with Oak Leaves, 24 January 1918 • Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class • Anhalt: Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, 1884 • Baden: • * Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1881 • * Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1881 • Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert, 1886 • Brunswick: Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion, 1888 • Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1885 • Flag of the Free City of Lübeck.svg Free Hanseatic Cities: Hanseatic Crosses • Hesse and by Rhine: • * Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 1 April 1875 • * Knight of the Golden Lion, with Collar, 24 May 1888 • * Medal of Bravery • Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore and Diamonds • Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, 18 February 1878 • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1882 • undefined: • * Knight of the Rue Crown, 1882 • * Grand Cross of the Albert Order, with Crown and Swords • Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1882 • Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1872 • 🇧🇪 Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold • undefined: Grand Cross of the Southern Cross • undefined: Grand Cross of St. Alexander • China: Order of the Double Dragon, Class I Grade II • 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 30 July 1888 • 🇫🇮 Finland: Grand Cross of the Cross of Liberty, 1918 • 🇬🇷 Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer • undefined: Grand Cross of the Order of Kalākaua • undefined: • * Knight of the Annunciation, 18 October 1875 • * Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 18 October 1875 • * Tuscan Grand Ducal family: Grand Cross of St. Joseph • Flag of the Vatican City (2 by 3).svg Holy See: Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ • undefined: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 10 June 1879 • undefined: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Golden Ruler, 1904 • undefined: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I • 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion • Ottoman Empire: Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class with Diamonds • undefined: • * Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders • * Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword • undefined: Grand Cross of the Star of Romania • undefined: • * Knight of St. Andrew • * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky • * Knight of the White Eagle • * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class • * Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class • undefined: Grand Cross of the White Eagle • Johor: First Class of the Royal Family Order of Johor, 24 February 1898 • 🇹🇭 Siam: Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, 24 December 1899 • undefined: • * Knight of the Golden Fleece, 3 October 1883 • * Grand Cross of Naval Merit, with White Decoration, 1903 • 🇸🇪 🇳🇴 Sweden-Norway: • * Knight of the Seraphim, 17 October 1887 • * Grand Cross of St. Olav, with Collar, 1 August 1888 • undefined: • * Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (civil), 13 August 1881 (expelled in 1915) • * Stranger Knight Companion of the Garter, 8 August 1889 (expelled in 1915) • * Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain, 9 August 1902 (revoked in 1915) • Venezuela: Collar of the Order of the Liberator

Honorary degrees and offices

Ancestry