Frankfurt, Germany, Dec 8 (AFP\/APP): A German prince, known for his desire to revive the country’s monarchy and rejected by his own family as a “mad old man”, has emerged as a central figure in an alleged coup plot.<\/p>\n
Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, descendant of a noble family with a history dating back over eight centuries, was supposed to be installed as Germany’s new leader if the bizarre plan had succeeded, officials say.<\/p>\n
But he was arrested, along with other alleged plotters including a right-wing ex-MP and former soldiers, in a massive nationwide operation by thousands of German security forces Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The group is allegedly members of the “Citizens of the Reich” (“Reichsbuerger”), an ideological movement grouping far-right extremists and conspiracy enthusiasts.<\/p>\n
The suspected seditionists are said to have planned to storm parliament and had sketched out details of their new government.<\/p>\n
Heinrich XIII, a real estate businessman, was arrested at his residence in Frankfurt and led out by police wearing masks.<\/p>\n
At the same time, his castle in Bad Lobenstein in the eastern region of Thuringia — where his aristocratic family had once ruled over a swathe of land — was also searched.<\/p>\n
It was at this grand residence where the prince allegedly plotted with others to overthrow the government.<\/p>\n
The 71-year-old had made little attempt to hide his extreme views, which chimed with the “Reichsbuerger” movement’s belief in the continued existence of the pre-World War I German Reich, or empire, under a monarchy.<\/p>\n
In a rambling speech to a conference in Zurich in 2019, he lamented the abdication of the German emperor in 1918, and insisted the modern-day German republic was illegitimate.<\/p>\n
He referred to the “so-called Federal Republic of Germany” and said the country was “being controlled based on administrative structures installed by the Allies after World War II”, who had also written the constitution.<\/p>\n
– ‘Black sheep’ –<\/p>\n
Other descendants of the noble family have starkly different views however and have long been trying to distance themselves from him.<\/p>\n
The prince is “unfortunately a mad old man,” the family’s current head, Prince Heinrich XIV Reuss, told AFP, adding they had cut ties with him 14 years earlier.<\/p>\n
“There is no contact with this black sheep of the family.”<\/p>\n
The head of the house, who is based in Austria, said he was “very shocked” to hear of his relative’s alleged involvement in the plan to overthrow the government.<\/p>\n
“It is very bad for the family’s reputation, no question,” he added.
\nOn Thursday, federal police chief Holger Muench said the far-right group behind the plan was heavily armed and posed a real threat.<\/p>\n
Those arrested included “a dangerous mix of people with irrational convictions, some with a lot of money and others in possession of weapons”, he told the ARD broadcaster.<\/p>\n
Weapons including crossbows, rifles and ammunition were uncovered during Wednesday’s raids, he said. Twenty-five were arrested in the raids while more are under investigation for their links to the group.<\/p>\n
Still, views differed as to how serious the plot really was.
\nA comment piece in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily warned it would be naive to dismiss the group as “loonies”.<\/p>\n
It noted the plotters included “teachers, doctors, business people… They are people who should actually be pillars of democracy”.<\/p>\n
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily, however, cautioned against “getting too carried away”, as nothing suggested the plot would have succeeded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Frankfurt, Germany, Dec 8 (AFP\/APP): A German prince, known for his desire to revive the country’s monarchy and rejected by his own family as a “mad old man”, has emerged as a central figure in an alleged coup plot. Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, descendant of […]<\/p>\n
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