Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (given names: Robert Karl Ludwig Maximilian Michael Maria Anton Franz Ferdinand Joseph Otto Hubert Georg Pius Johannes Marcus d'Aviano; 8 February 1915 – 7 February 1996), was the second son of Charles I, (beatified) last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was also known as Robert Karl Erzherzog von Österreich.

Archduke of Austria-Este

On 16 April 1917, at the age of two, his father the Emperor ceded the title of Archduke of Austria-Este in Robert's favour. Archduke Robert was thereby chosen to preserve, in the form of a distinct secundogeniture, the Habsburg-Lorraine representation of the once-sovereign Duchy of Modena which had belonged to the House of Este. He was thus made heir to his assassinated relative Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863–1914), who had inherited in 1875 the Austria-Este designation and what had been salvaged of the Este fortune when the duchy was annexed to Italy in 1860.

Family

Archduke Robert married Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (7 April 1930 – 10 January 2022, elder daughter of the late Amadeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta) on 28 December 1953 in Bourg-en-Bresse, Ain, France (civilly) and 29 December 1953, in Brou, Eure-et-Loir, France (religiously). The couple had five children:

Ancestry