Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg was the final head of the House of Schwarzburg and heir to the formerly sovereign principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
Background
He was born in Großharthau in the Kingdom of Saxony the son of Prince Sizzo von Leutenberg (1860–1926) and his wife Princess Alexandra of Anhalt (1868–1958). On April 21, 1896 his father had been recognised as a dynast of the house as Prince Sizzo of Schwarzburg, having previously lacked succession rights due to his parents" morganatic marriage.
Career
In 1909 the two Schwarzburg principalities were united in a personal union under Prince Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. This followed the extinction of the elder Sondershausen branch, at which point Friedrich Günther became second in line to the united principality, following Sizzo. But the German Revolution prompted Prince Günther to abdicate on November 22, 1918 thereby ending the rule of the House of Schwarzburg.
Following Friedrich Günther"s death in 1971 in Munich the male line of the House of Schwarzburg became extinct.
Historically the Schwarzburg principalities could descend by semi-Salic primogeniture: in the event of the extinction of all male dynasts (as happened with the death of Prince Friedrich Günther) females were, prior to abolition of the Principality of Schwarzburg in 1918, eligible to inherit the throne. Another interpretation of the succession to the principality of Schwarzburg in the event of the extinction of males of its Sondershausen and Rudolstadt branches was put forth by the German jurist, Hermann Schulze in 1883.
He noted that inter-dynastic inheritance pacts contracted by semi-sovereign vassals of the Holy Roman Emperors remained legally enforceable in the German Empire after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire itself in 1806, and conferred rights on male heirs superior to those of female heirs inheriting by semi-Salic primogeniture. With the extinction of the House of Hohenstein the houses of Schwarzburg and Stolberg renewed the pact on 28 January 1594.
Philipp, 5th Prince zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (born 1967) is the seniormost male descendant by primogeniture of Botho of Stolberg.
However, as with Friedrich Magnus of Solms-Wildenfels, Philipp has no children by either of his marriages, in 2001 to Countess Caroline von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee (b 1971) and in 2006 to Couness Leonille Douglas.