He was only six years old in 1854 when his father was murdered, which made him Duke of Parma with his mother as his regent. However, this was only until 1860 when Italy was united and the Duchies of Parma and Lucca ceased to exist. From then on the head of their family was still styled Duke of Parma. 
The family then exiled themselves to Castle Wartegg in Switzerland, or to Palazzo Cavalli in Venice. Their childless uncle and aunt, the Count and Countess of Chambord, took the four orphaned 
children under their wing and, as a result, Roberto and his brother and two sisters received a much more responsible upbringing than they would have received from their father. 
However, as memory to his father, he kept his numerous uniforms at Castle Wartegg and, once a year, these had to be aired in the garden, so that when there was a gust of wind this must have been a colourful sight. 
Together with his brother Enrico, Count of Bardi, he was educated by the Jesuits at Feldkirch followed by a military education. However, they did have practical military experience as well as they took part in the last Carlist war in the army of their brother-in-law, Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid, who had married their eldest sister, Margherita. 
The two brothers, Roberto and Enrico, first married, as their first wives, two Sicilian sisters, Maria Pia and Luisa, daughters of King Ferdinando II; then as their second wives, two Infantas of 
Portugal, Maria Antonia and Adelgundes, daughters of Dom Miguel. 
Sadly, both marriages of Enrico remained childless, while Roberto fathered twelve children by each wife. Roberto and Enrico both died young, Roberto in 1907 and Enrico in 1905, while their widows survived many years. The Countess of Bardi died in 1946 and the Duchess of Parma in 1959. 

There was quite a difference between the children of Roberto's first and second marriage. From the first: three were sickly and died young, six were regarded as mentally feeble and only three married; while the six sons and six daughters from the second marriage were healthy and intelligent. One of these daughters, Zita, became the last Austrian Empress; and one of the sons, Felix, married Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxemburg; as a result through their son, Jean, a member of the Bourbon-Parma family is again a ruling monarch.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas