He has been called the prince in the media, but his title is actually prince. The 71-year-old Heinrich XIII is part of the famous Reuss noble family in Germany, with roots in the state of Thuringia. There he owns, among other things, a hunting lodge in the community of Bad Lobenstein.
Heinrich XIII has not always been so popular within the family as he had a tendency to spread conspiracy theories and make anti-Semitic statements, statements that were often widely spread on social media by right-wing extremists. A spokesman for the Reuss noble family has described Heinrich XIII as a confused old man.
But according to the German Attorney General, the same old man is now suspected of having led the organization whose plans were to carry out a coup d’état, a bloody coup in which Germany would be turned into an empire with himself as the new head of state.
The terrorist-classified organization behind the planned coup d’état is said to be part of the far-right Reichsbürger movement, which is suspected of having the prince’s castle as its headquarters. Among other things, the movement has made itself known for spreading the conspiracy theory that Germany is ruled by a secret network of people in power.