The position regarding Lippe is quite complex but the majority of the Lippe family consider Armin to be the head of the Lippe House. Armin was the youngest son of the last reiging prince prince of Lippe, Leopold IV.
Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia (Georg Friedrich, Titular German Emperor,
King of Prussia, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg) (b. 1976) by virtue of a 1442 succession pact, the claim to Mecklenburg reverted
to the margraves of Brandenburg on extinction of the dynasty in 2001
1918: when Heinrich XXIV, Prince Reuss zu Greiz (1878-1927) renounced the throne (the Elder Line of the House of Reuss became extinct on Heinrich XXIV's death)
Heinrich IV, Titular Fürst Reuss (1919-) (on his father's death 1946
but not fully recognized as such until 1962 with effect from 1953)
Reproduced below is a posting from
"The German-Austrian Royals Message Board" (GARMB) by Sam Dotson on 4/1/2006. I'm
grateful to Sam and also Anuschka the GARMB administrator for their permission to include the posting on my Web Site.
(Note: "The German-Austrian Royals Message Board" (GARMB) has is no longer in being.)
The last reigning Fürst Reuß j.L. was Heinrich XXVII, who died 1928. He was succeeded by his son Heinrich XLV, who went missing at the end of World War II (autumn 1945). Heinrich XLV was not "officially" declared dead by a court at Büdingen until 1962; the ruling had effect as of 1953. As a consequence, no one could rightfully "succeed" Heinrich XLV until he had been declared dead. The next senior male in line after Heinrich XLV was Heinrich XXXIX (of the Ernstbrunn, Austria, line), who died in 1946 and was succeeded by his son Heinrich IV, who is still alive and is considered the Head of the House of Reuß with the title Fürst. But Heinrich IV did not "succeed" Heinrich XLV until 1962 (with effect from 1953) because until then, Heinrich XLV was still alive - "officially".
Complicating this straightforward succession is the fact that Heinrich XLV adopted Pr. Heinrich I (1910-1982) as his heir for inheritance purposes (not for purposes of Head of House). Pr. Heinrich I's eldest surviving son is Pr. Heinrich VIII (born 1944). The latter is heir of the goods of Heinrich XLV, but not Head of the House of Reuß, and does not beat the title "Fürst".
1909: when the male line of
Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen became extinct with the death of Prince Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1830-1909)
(b) Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
1918: when Gunther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1853-1925) abdicated
1971: the Princely House of Schwarzburg became extinct in the male line with the death of
Prince Friedrich Gunther of Schwarzburg (1901-1971)
Note: Schwarzburg had semi-Salic succession, so a potential claimant would be
Friedrich Magnus, Graf zu Solms- Wildenfels, (1927- ) via his mother
Princess Marie-Antoinette of Schwarzburg (1898-1984)
The succession of the House of Schwarzburg is quite complicated and here is a detailed explanation of the
House Laws of Schwarzburg.
On 31 May 1961, by written declaration, Archduke Otto renounced
his rights to the Austrian throne as well as his membership in
the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and declared himself to be a
citizen of Austria. This 'political fiction' was done for
the benefit of the Austrian republic and to allow Otto to
journey to Austria whenever he so wished. This "renunciation"
was viewed as such and understood for what it was by the members
of the Imperial family. (Les Manuscrits du C.E.D.R.E.: L'Empire
d'Autriche, volume III, 1991, page 69.)
On 12 April 1994, Leopold III, Titular Grand Duke of Tuscany,
abdicated as Titular Grand Duke in favor of his
elder son, Archduke Sigismund; his civil remarriage after a
divorce conflicted with heading the Roman Catholic order of
St. Stephen.