Henry LXXII, Prince of Reuss-Lobenstein-Ebersdorf

Heinrich LXXII, Prince of Reuss-Lobenstein-Ebersdorf (1797 – 1853) was prince of Reuss-Lobenstein from 7 May 1824 until his abdication on 1 October 1848; and prince of Reuss-Ebersdorf 1822 to 1848.

He currently holds the Guiness World Record for the largest regnal number of a monarch. However, unlike with most European monarchies, his number does not indicate that he was directly preceded by 71 previous rulers also named Heinrich. By tradition, all male members of the House of Reuss are named Heinrich, and are numbered by order of birth within the family in general. In the Reuss Younger Line, the numbering system was reset at the beginning of each century; thus Heinrich LXXII's high number is directly related to his having been born at the very end of the 18th century.

Heinrich LXXII abdicated in 1848, due to civil unrest in connection with the revolutions that spread through Germany and elsewhere in Europe that year. The last of his branch of the family, his principality passed to the Prince Reuss zu Schleiz, unifying the lands of the Reuss Younger Line.

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External links

* [http://www.anumis.de/deutschland-1871/deutsche-taler/1101284053.htm The Fürst on a coin]
* [http://felix2.no-ip.org/deutsch/1848/wolff7.html Contemporary German newspaper article about his abdication]
* [http://www.thueringen.de/de/lzt/thueringen/blaetter/threv/content.html A German page describing the crisis which let to his abdication]