Henrich XIII, Prince of Reuss, has been identified as one of 25 people arrested and accused of plotting a far-right coup against the German government

Police have today raided an alleged far-right German terror group led by a man claiming descent from an ancient royal line accused of plotting to overthrow the government and install him as monarch. 

Prince Heinrich XIII, 71 and thought to claim descent from the House of Reuss, was named among 25 arrested after police raided 130 locations including a palace in the state of Thuringia – the ancestral seat of the family. 

Prince Heinrich XIV Reuss of Greiz, current head of the House of Reuss-Greiz, denounced his relative in a statement after the raids – branding him a ‘confused old man’ who left the family 14 years ago and has not been in contact since. 

Also arrested were a 69-year-old former paratrooper named Ruediger v. P. and a former AfD member of the Bundestag and Berlin judge Birgit M.-W., 58.

Henrich XIII, Prince of Reuss, has been identified as one of 25 people arrested and accused of plotting a far-right coup against the German government

Henrich XIII, Prince of Reuss, has been identified as one of 25 people arrested and accused of plotting a far-right coup against the German government

Prosecutors say the group – allied under the Reichsbürger banner which rejects the modern state in favour of the German Reich – planned to overthrow the government and found a new state with Heinrich as its monarch. 

Federal prosecutors said Heinrich had contacted Russian officials with the aim of negotiating a new order once the German government was overthrown.

He was allegedly assisted in this by a Russian woman, Vitalia B.

“According to current investigations there is no indication however that the persons contacted responded positively to his request,” prosecutors said.

A further person detained by police Wednesday was identified by prosecutors as Birgit M.-W. Der Spiegel reported that the woman is a judge and former lawmaker with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

The party, known by its German acronym AfD, has increasingly come under scrutiny by German security services due to its ties with extremists.

Coup plotters had already selected who would be in charge of various ministries within the new government, Bild reports, and had acquired a number of legally-purchased guns.

Former soldiers of the Bundeswehr were involved in the plans, Bild adds, which have been ongoing since at least November 2021. 

Suspects were arrested in the German states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Thuringia as well as in Austria and Italy.

German police today carried out sweeping raids across much of the country targeting an alleged far-right group accused of plotting to overthrow the government

German police today carried out sweeping raids across much of the country targeting an alleged far-right group accused of plotting to overthrow the government

25 people were arrested including Prince Heinrich XIII, who may claim descent from a now-abolished German monarchical line

25 people were arrested including Prince Heinrich XIII, who may claim descent from a now-abolished German monarchical line

Prosecutors said 22 German citizens were detained on suspicion of ‘membership in a terrorist organization.’ 

Three other people, including a Russian citizen, are suspected of supporting the organization, they said.

Prosecutors said that one person was detained in the Austrian town of Kitzbuehel and another in the Italian city of Perugia. 

Though exact details are unclear, it appears the arrested Prince Heinrich claims descent from the House of Reuss which existed in Germany from the 11th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1918.

All male descendants of this house were named Heinrich after Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, to whom they owed their titles and lands.

Each Heinrich was given a number after their name which went from 1 to 100 and then restarted from the beginning – meaning that, though there have been many Heinrichs through history, it is possible a Heinrich XIII would be alive today. 

In 1778 Heinrich XI was elevated to princely status, after which all of his male heirs also used the title. 

The house maintained lands in the modern-day state of Thuringa, with German press saying police raided a palace in the same state today. 

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