Description
Prinz Heinrich of Prussia (1862-1929) was Kaiser Wilhelm II’s younger brother. They were both sons of Kaiser Friedrich III and grandsons of Kaiser Wilhelm I. Heinrich established a career in the Kaiserliche Marine. He became a cadet in 1877 and advanced through the ranks, commanding several German Navy ships. He commanded the royal yacht S. M. Y. Hohenzollern from 1889 through 1890. Next, he commanded several large ships, then was promoted to Konteradmiral in 1899, commanding the East Asia Squadron. In 1909 he was promoted to the rank of Großadmiral. The only six men to achieve the rank were:
Kaiser Wilhelm II
King Gustav of Sweden
Hans von Koester
Prinz Heinrich
Alfred von Tirpitz
Henning von Holtzendorff
Wilhelm II and Gustav of Sweden were symbolic appointments, while the other four men held true administrative/command positions. In the case of Prinz Heinrich, he was Commander in Chief of the Baltic Fleet beginning in 1914, commanding that fleet until the end of the war with Russia in 1917. Nevertheless, he was successful and his modest fleet gave the Russians a good run for their money. When the war with Russia ended, Heinrich retired from the naval service. In his old age his interests turned to aviation (he was one of Germany’s first pilots at the turn of the century), motorsports, and sailing. He died in 1929 from cancer of the throat, as had his father.
Today we offer a dinner plate from Prinz Heinrich’s personal service. The plate measures 9 1/4″ in diameter. Around the plate’s edge is a light-blue and gold trim. In the center we see Prince Heinrich’s crowned cypher. Please examine our accompanying photos carefully to see the wear on his cypher’s gold arms. It clearly comes from years of cleaning, washing, and stacking the plates in pantries. This accounts for the wear visible today. The plate’s bottom is hallmarked for KPM of Berlin. The firm first began producing tableware for members of the House of Hohenzollern during König Friedrich der Große’s reign. This included the manufacture of pieces for the princes and princesses of the house, not just the ruling head. Aside from the noted wear to the cypher, the plate is in very good condition.
