Prince Henry

### Date of death

April 20, 1929 (aged 66) in Schloss Hemmelmark, Barkelsby, Schleswig-Holstein, Weimar Republic

### Place of burial

Schloss Hemmelmark, Barkelsby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

### Child

Prince Waldemar
Prince Sigismund
Prince Henry of Prussia (1900–1904)

### Present in work

Prince Henry's life and career are documented in various historical accounts and biographies, especially those related to the German imperial family and the Imperial German Navy.

### Award received

* 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß (Royal Prussian 1st Regiment of Foot Guards) – Leutnant (Second Lieutenant) through Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls (Colonel-General in the Rank of Field Marshal), 1871 - 1918
* Kgl. Sächs. 2. Grenadier-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen Nr. 101 (Royal Saxon 2nd Grenadier Regiment)
* Kgl. Bayerisches Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 8 (Royal Bavarian 8th Artillery Regiment) – Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls and Chef (Colonel in Chief)
* 1. Großherzogl. Hessisches Feldartilleree-Regiment 25 (Grand Duchy of Hesse 2nd Artillery Regiment)
* Fußilier-Regiment “Prinz Heinrich von Preußen” (Brandenburgisches) Nr 35 (The Brandenburg Fusilier Regiment) - Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls and Chef (Colonel in Chief)
* Template:Flagicon image Austria-Hungary: K.u.K. Infantry Regiment Nr. 20 – Oberstinhaber (Colonel in Chief)
* Template:Flagicon image Austria-Hungary: K.u.K. Kriegsmarine (Navy) – Vizeadmiral (vice admiral)
	+ Austria-Hungary: K.u.K. Kriegsmarine - Konteradmiral (rear-admiral) 1899
* Template:Flagicon image United Kingdom: Royal Navy – Admiral (Honorary) 13 September 1901
	+ Royal Navy - Vice-Admiral (Honorary) 5 February 1901.
* Template:Flagicon Russian Empire: Imperial Dragoon Regiment Nr. 33 – Colonel

**Prince Henry of Prussia** (Template:Lang-de; 14 August 1862 – 20 April 1929) was a younger brother of German Emperor William II and a Prince of Prussia. 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 Generalinspekteur der Marine.

## Biography

Born in Berlin, Prince Henry 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 Henry entered the Imperial Navy cadet program. His naval education included a two-year voyage around the world (1878 to 1880), the naval officer examination (*Seeoffizierhauptprüfung*) in October 1880, and attending the German naval academy (1884 to 1886).

 File:Prince Henry of Prussia visiting Hawaii in 1879.jpg
### 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 Template:SMS, the coastal defense ship Template:SMS, the ironclad Template:SMS and the pre-dreadnought battleship Template:SMS.

### 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.Template:Citation needed

### World War I

 File:Prinz Heinrich von Preußen in Santiago de Chile Anfang April 1914.jpg   File:Prince Heinrich.png  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:

 File:Prince Heinrich of Prussia with family.jpg  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.

Main article: Haemophilia in European royalty
## 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 Technical University of 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, as his father had, in Hemmelmark on 20 April 1929.

George Burroughs Torrey painted a portrait of him.

## Naval career and advancement

* Unterleutnant zur See, 14 August 1872; Basic Training and Naval Academy 1877-1878
* Leutnant zur See, 18 October 1881; Training Cruises and Naval Academy 1878-1882
* Kapitänleutnant, 18 October 1884; Executive Officer, ironclad corvette Template:SMS, 1886
* Korvettenkapitän, 18 October 1887; Commander, 1st Torpedo Boat Division, 1887; Commander, Imperial Yacht *SMY Hohenzollern*, 1888
* Kapitän zur See, 27 January 1889; Commander, protected cruiser Template:SMS, 1889–1890; Commander, Armored Coastal Defense Ship *SMS Beowulf*, 1892; Commander, ironclad corvette Template:SMS, 1892–1894; Commander, pre-dreadnought battleship Template:SMS, 1894–1895
* Konteradmiral, 15 September 1895; Commander, 2nd Division, 1st Battle Squadron, 1896–1897; Commander, 2nd Division, Cruiser Squadron, 1897–1899
* Vizeadmiral, 5 December 1899; Commander, Cruiser Squadron, 1899–1900; Commander, 1st Battle Squadron, 1900–1903
* Admiral, 13 September 1901; Commanding Admiral, Baltic Sea Naval Command, 1903–1906, Commander, High Seas Fleet, 1906–1909
* Großadmiral, 4 September 1909; Inspector General of the Imperial Navy, 1909–1918; Commander-in-Chief, Baltic Fleet, 1914–1918

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 *Handbuch über den Königlich Preussischen Hof und Staat*, 1908, p. 2
2. ↑ Der Rittmeister Militaria, LLC: http://www.derrittmeister.com/royalty.htm Template:Webarchive
3. ↑ *Handbuch...*, 1908, p. 2, and Der Rittmeister Militaria, LLC: http://www.derrittmeister.com/royalty.htm Template:Webarchive
4. ↑ Template:Cite newspaper The Times
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Template:London Gazette
6. ↑ Template:London Gazette
7. ↑ Template:Cite news
8. ↑ Template:Cite newspaper The Times
9. ↑ Template:Cite magazine