In 1558, after the death of his first wife Prince William of Orange expressed a desire to marry Renata.

The planned marriage alliance between Lorraine and Sweden was finally ended when Eric XIV married his non-noble lover Karin Månsdotter in 1567.

[3] Finally, on 22 February 1568, Renata married her paternal second, but maternal first cousin William, hereditary prince of Bavaria,[4] in a large, elaborate ceremony and celebration in Munich that lasted 18 days.

After her husband inherited the duchy in 1579 as William V of Bavaria, Renata spent much of her time in the Herzogspitalkirche in Munich, founded in 1555 by her father-in-law.

Her grave is located in the St. Michael's Church in Munich, the consecration of which was the last high point in both her and her husband's lives.