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- BIOGRAPHY
René was born in 1550, the son of René I, vicomte de Rohan, prince de Leon, and Isabelle d'Albret, princesse de Navarre, daughter of Jean, seigneur d'Albret, comte de Penthièvre and Catherine de Foix, queen of Navarre. In 1575 he married Catherine de Parthenay-L'Archeveque, the only child of Jean V de Parthenay-L'Archeveque, seigneur de Soubise, and Antoinette Bouchard d'Aubeterre. Catherine was the heiress to the rich Huguenot Partheney-L'Archeveque family originating from the Poitou region of France. René and Catherine had six children, of whom the two eldest, Catherine and Henri, would have progeny.
René was the heir of his uncle Henri de Rohan, vicomte de Rohan, prince de León, whose two children with Françoise de Tournemine died young. René was described as austere but fair, inspiring respect from his enemies and affection from his family and friends. He died at La Rochelle in 1586, aged 36. His widow became a leading figure in the Protestant cause. His heir was his son Henri II, who married Marguerite de Béthune, daughter of Maximilien I de Béthune, 1.duc de Sully. His daughter Catherine, who married Johann II, Pfalzgraf von Zweibrücken, was said to have made the following reply to a king taken with her beauty: 'Sire, I am too poor to be your wife, but too well bred to be your mistress'.
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