Background
He was born in Gotha, as the seventh but fourth surviving son of Ernest I the Pious of Saxe-Gotha and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg. In Darmstadt on 1 March 1676, Henry married Marie Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Career
They had no children. Duke Henry unfolded brisk construction activity. He had his castle remodeled and rebuilt according to his wishes.
During his rule the castle church was built, and a customs house, and four houses for the court nobility, plus a riding school, a race track and the Orangerie.
Many of these buildings no longer exist, but Henry described them in detail in his book The Princely desire to build of Duke Henry of Saxe-Römhild, which he published himself. This book is considered one of the few remaining contemporary testimonies on ephemeral architecture.
Henry also had lake Bürgersee drained and converted it into a pleasure garden. He equipped the city church with a Baroque high altar, an ornate royal box and a new organization
Henry was knowledgeable in mechanics, architecture and mathematics.
He maintained a princely library at Schloss Glücksburg, which he expanded steadily. After Henry"s death, it was inherited by the Duke of Saxe-Gotha. Henry entered into imperial military service when he was young and became imperial Generalfeldzeugmeister in 1697.
The luxurious life at court and the court of the duke"s representative brought the small country town of Römhild to economic recovery and cultural prosperity.
The expenditure exceeded the financial strength of the Duke by far. When the popular ruler died unexpectedly in 1710, he left behind significant debts.
His inheritance was auctioned. Henry died at Römhild.
Duke Henry was buried in the Altar Hall of Römhild church.
Today, there is no inscription and no more grave marker. The Principality was divided in the Coburg-Eisenberg-Römhild inheritance dispute, which was settled in 1735.
Membership
In his last four years he was the senior member of the Ernestine house.