Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria

Rainer Joseph Johann Michael Franz Hieronymus, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (30 September 1783, Pisa – 16 January 1853, Bolzano) was a Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia from 1818 to 1848. He should not to be confused with his son, Rainer Ferdinand.

Rainer was son of Emperor Leopold II and Empress Maria Louisa, and was thus a younger brother of Emperor Franz I. He married at Prague on 28 May 1820 Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignano (Paris 13 April 1800 - Bozen 25 December 1856). She was the sister of the Prince of Carignan, who would in 1831 become King of Sardinia as King Charles Albert.

Although Rainer suffered from a mild form of epilepsy, this did not visibly interfere with his military career. [George R. Marek, "The Eagles Die. Franz Joseph, Elisabeth, and Their Austria", pp. 41-42. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. This mild form of epilepsy was also suffered by Archduke Karl and his son, Archduke Albrecht, both of whom were able military commanders.]

Rainer served as Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia from 1818 to 1848. The position made Rainer and his wife the head of the Austrian court at Milan; they also had a villa at Lake Como. The Italians resented him for collecting his revenues with so little benefit to them in return. This, and the lack of understanding between Rainer and "Feldmarschall" Graf Radetzky, were blamed for the disasters of the Italian Revolution of 1848. [Joan Haslip, "The Crown of Mexico", pp. 22, 89, 109. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.]

Children included:
* Maria Karolina (6 February 1821) - (23 Jan 1844) - Unmarried, no issue
* Adelheid (3 June 1822 - 20 January 1855) - Became Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia as wife of Victor Emmanuel II, from 1849 king of Sardinia.
* Leopold Ludwig (6 June 1823 - 24 May 1898) - "Oberkommandant der Marine" ('High Commander of the Navy') from 1864 to 1868.
* Ernst Karl (8 August 1824 - 4 April 1899)
* Sigismund Leopold (7 January 1826 - 15 December 1891)
* Rainer Ferdinand (11 January 1827 - 27 January 1913) - Austrian Minister President 1859-61; [Robert A. Kann, "A History of the Habsburg Empire 1526-1918", pp. 328, 331. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974.] [Alan Palmer, "Twilight of the Habsburgs. The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph", pp. 122-123. New York: Grove Press, 1994.] his visit to the Hotel Greif in Wels is commemorated by a wall plaque there.
* Heinrich Anton (9 May 1828 - 30 November 1891)
* Maximilian Karl (16 January 1830 - 16 March 1839)

Infobox Austriaemperorstyles
royal name=Archduke Rainer of Austria
dipstyle=His Imperial and Royal Highness
offstyle=Your Imperial and Royal Highness
altstyle=Sir|

The Revolution of 1848 forced Rainer and Elisabeth from the court at Milan; when the insurrection was quelled, Radetzky was named Rainer's successor as Viceroy. Although his children, except Adelheid, are buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, he and his wife are buried elsewhere.

Through his daughter Adelheid, Rainer is an ancestor of the entire royal family of Italy which reigned from 1861 to 1946.

ahnentafel-compact5
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1= 1. Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria
2= 2. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
3= 3. Maria Louisa of Spain
4= 4. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
5= 5. Maria Theresa of Austria
Queen of Hungary & Bohemia
6= 6. Charles III of Spain
7= 7. Maria Amalia of Saxony
8= 8. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
9= 9. Princess Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans
10= 10. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
11= 11. Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
12= 12. Philip V of Spain
13= 13. Elisabeth of Parma
14= 14. Augustus III of Poland
Elector of Saxony
15= 15. Maria Josepha of Austria
16= 16. Charles V, Duke of Lorraine
17= 17. Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria
Queen Dowager of Poland-Lithuania
18= 18. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
19= 19. Countess Palatine Elizabeth Charlotte of Simmern
20= 20. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
21= 21. Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg
22= 22. Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
23= 23. Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen
24= 24. Louis, Dauphin of France
25= 25. Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria
26= 26. Edward II Farnese, Duke of Parma
27= 27. Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
28= 28. Augustus II of Poland
Elector of Saxony
29= 29. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
30= 30. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
31= 31. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Calenberg

Notes