Principality of Reuss-Gera - The Princely House

The Princely House

The House of Reuss practises an unusual system of naming and numbering the male members of the family, every one of which for centuries has borne the name "Heinrich". While most royal and noble houses give numbers only to the reigning head of the house, and that in the order of his reign, the Reuss Younger Line used a numbering sequence for all male family members which began and ended roughly as centuries began and ended. In consequence of this naming system, certain heads of the Reuss Younger Line have had the highest numbers attached to their name of any European nobility. Note also that the male children within a single nuclear family need not bear sequential numbers, as all members of the larger family use a common numbering system. For example, the sons of Prince Heinrich LXVII Reuss of Schleiz, in order of their births, used the names Heinrich V, Heinrich VIII, Heinrich XI, Heinrich XIV, and Heinrich XVI.

A notable member of this family, Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (1757–1831), became the maternal grandmother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

The designation "younger line" fell into abeyance in 1930; the "elder line" had become extinct as its last member, Heinrich XXIV, renounced his rights in 1918 and died unmarried in 1927.