Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was born on 14 August 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark, as a member of the aristocratic family Sayn-Wittgenstein.
Sayn-Wittgenstein attended numerous schools in various locations, including a private tutor at Lake Geneva, a boarding school in Neubeuern in Upper Bavaria, a brief stay at Davos in Switzerland, and a private school in Montreux.