Austro-Hungarian military officer, the seventh surviving son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. In 1921, he married Princess Margaret of Denmark. They had four children including Queen Anne of Romania, the wife of Michael I, former King of Romania.
Educated at the Theresianum in Vienna, he graduated from a military academy and served at the Imperial and Royal armed forces as a cavalry officer.
During World War I, René’s brothers, Princes Sixtus and Xavier decided to fight for the cause of the allies while René and his brothers, Elias, Duke of Parma and Felix fought on the opposite side joining the Austrian Army and the cause of the central powers. Their sister, Zita, was married to Archduke Charles of Austria, who became the Austrian Emperor on 21 November 1916. At the fall of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918, Prince René moved to France.
On 9 June 1921, Prince René married Princess Margaret of Denmark in Copenhagen. The couple had four children.
At the outbreak of World War II, Prince René tried to join the French Army, unable to do it, he traveled to Finland, where he volunteered for service with the Finnish army. He received a mission from the commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Baron Mannerheim, to acquire support for Finland from France and Italy, a task more suitable for him than fighting.
After the war ended, Prince René settled with his wife in Denmark. In 1964, Rene’s eldest son, Prince Jacques, was killed. He was a motor sport enthusiast, and died in a traffic accident on a highway in Denmark. Rene himself died on 30 July 1962 at the age of 67.
Link to Wikipedia biography