René II, Viscount of Rohan (1550–1586), was Prince of Leon, Count of Porhoët, seigneur of Pontivy and Frontenay, and a Huguenot nobleman. He was head of one of the oldest and most distinguished families in France, which was connected with many of the reigning houses of Europe.
René de Rohan, his wife Catherine de Parthenay, their sons Henri II, Duke of Rohan and Benjamin, Duke of Soubise, and their daughter Anne de Rohan strategised and led the Huguenot army against the Catholic army throughout the French Wars of Religion.
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Early life
René was the son of René I, Viscount of Rohan and Isabella of Navarre, Viscountess of Rohan (who was the daughter of John III of Navarre and Catherine of Navarre, Queen Regnant of Navarre).
By November 1565, René I de Rohan forbade Catholic worship in his lands, to which Henry III of France threatened to impound his chateau.
Marriage and issue
René of Rohan courted Catherine de Parthenay, a widow at the age of 18. After René inherited the Rohan family's fortune and acquired the title of Viscount of Rohan, they married in 1575 in a private ceremony. She was a Huguenot leader, strategist, and fighter. Parthenay received the title Viscountess and Princess of Rohan after their marriage.