Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este

Arms as borne by Archduke Robert during his lifetime.

On 16 April 1917, at the age of two, his father the Emperor ceded the title of Archduke of Austria-Este in Robert's favor. 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.

Archduke Robert descended through his Habsburg father from Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena, and his mother Zita was a descendant of Maria Beatrice d'Este, heiress of Modena and her husband, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. Thus the lineage of the last Este dukes, in female descent, remained joined to the Austria-Este legacy. Archduke Robert eventually adopted use for himself and his descendants in male line the surname Austria-Este, and he took also the title Duke of Este, intended henceforth to be borne by the head of the Austria-Este branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Upon his death in 1996, the day before his 81st birthday, he was succeeded as head of this line by his son, Lorenz of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium (born 1955). Although the marriage of his eldest son to Princess Astrid of Belgium, relegated use of the Austria-Este archdukedom to a secondary title in that realm, the title continues in use elsewhere among his cadet descendants.

Archduke Robert married Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (born 7 April 1930), elder daughter of the late Amadeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta on 28 December 1953 in Bourg-en-Bresse, France (civilly) and 29 December 1953 (religiously), in Brou, France.
The couple had five children, all of whom use the designation of Austria-Este:

• Archduchess Maria Beatrice (born 11 December 1954), who wed 26 April 1980 in Chartres Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg, a great-grandson of the last Bavarian king, Ludwig III and of Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria-Este. They have six daughters:
  • Countess Anna Theresa von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1981) married Colin McKenzie (born 1976) on 29 September 2018 at Niederaltaich Abbey in Bavaria.
  • Countess Margherita von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1983)
  • Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1988) who wed 17 October 2019 in Neuilly-Sur-Seine, Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon (born 1986)[1][2]
  • Countess Maximiliana von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1990)
  • Countess Marie Gabrielle von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1992)
  • Countess Giorgiana von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1997)
• Archduke Lorenz (born 16 December 1955), who wed 22 September 1984 at Brussels, Princess Astrid of Belgium (born 1962), daughter of King Albert II of the Belgians.[3][4]They have three daughters and two sons:
  • Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 1986) wed Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein on 5 July 2014 in Rome, Italy.[5]
  • Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 1988)
  • Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 1991)
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 1995)
  • Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 2003)
• Archduke Gerhard (born 30 October 1957), who wed in 2015 Iris Jandrasits (born 1961).
• Archduke Martin (born 21 December 1959), who wed Princess Katharina Elisabeth Helene Maria of Isenburg, sister of Sophie, Princess of Prussia and Isabelle, Princess von Wied. They have three sons and a daughter.
• Archduchess Isabella (born 2 March 1963), who wed Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi. They have three sons and a daughter.