Background
Born in Milan, the capital of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, he was a son of Viceroy Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria (1783–1853) and his consort Princess Elisabeth of Savoy (1800–1856).
Born in Milan, the capital of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, he was a son of Viceroy Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria (1783–1853) and his consort Princess Elisabeth of Savoy (1800–1856).
He studied law at the University of Vienna and in 1843 joined the Austrian Imperial Army in the rank of an Oberst (Colonel).
Rainer Ferdinand spent most of his youth at the Royal Villa of Monza. The marriage was a very happy one, and, with numerous public appearances and charitable activities, the couple was probably the most popular amongst the Habsburg family. The lavish celebration of their diamond wedding in 1912 was rated as one of the last great events of the dissolving Austro-Hungarian Monarchy before World War I. However, the marriage remained childless.
Beside his military career, he was also interested in art and science, in particular the emerging Papyrology.
In 1899 he donated his extensive Faiyum papyrus collection to the Austrian National Library, part the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Memory of the World Register since 2001. Already in 1857, Archduke Rainer was appointed president of the Austrian Imperial Council by Emperor Francis Joseph I. In the course of the implementation of the 1861 February Patent constitution, he took up office as nominal Minister-President chairing the liberal cabinet of State Minster Anton von Schmerling.