Biography
Rainer was a son of Emperor Leopold II and Empress Maria Luisa, and was thus a younger brother of Emperor Franz I.
Although Rainer suffered from a mild form of epilepsy, this did not visibly interfere with his military career.
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.
Read more about this topic: Archduke Rainer Joseph Of Austria