Roland II had a brother Desiderius I (also "the Blind"),[1] who served as ispán of Borsod and Gömör Counties, and married a daughter of oligarch Stephen Ákos, establishing an alliance between the two powerful kindreds.

Roland, his brother Desiderius and two of his cousins, Rathold II and Nicholas "Vecse" successfully defended the Cistercian monastery at Egres (present-day Igriș in Romania).

[5] Maintaining the short-lived dual system in the dignity in order to avoid power struggle, which characterized the late reign of Andrew III, Roland Rátót became Palatine of Hungary for the Transdanubian region (Latin: palatinus ultradanubialis) – simultaneously Apor Péc was responsible for Cisdanubia – in 1298 and held that office until the next year.

[8] Roland held an assembly at Gáva (today part of Gávavencsellő) in October 1298 and in Borsod County in the following year.

[9] Following the death of Andrew III and the extinction of the Árpád dynasty in 1301, Roland presumably supported the claim of Wenceslaus of Bohemia to the Hungarian throne, similarly to his cousins (including Dominic II, the actual head of the family) and brother Desiderius.

He attended the wedding of Stephen Ákos the Younger with a foreign (Bavarian or Czech) princess in early 1303, but this fact does not confirm his affiliation, as pro-Charles oligarch Amadeus Aba was also present.

Within a short time, he rose to prominence in the royal court of Charles, becoming one of the most illustrious domestic partisans of the Anjou prince, alongside Ugrin Csák and Amadeus Aba.

Majority of the historians, including Gyula Kristó and Jenő Szűcs, considered, these barons, Matthew III Csák, Amadeus Aba, Ivan Kőszegi, Stephen Ákos, James Borsa, Apor Péc and Roland Rátót himself were arbitrarily took and used the title, which marked its devaluation.

In addition to them, two co-palatines of the previous year, Roland Rátót and Apor Péc also received the title as a counterweight, according to Zsoldos' theory.

One of the bases of Zsoldos' theory is the fact that Roland Rátót and Apor Péc were considered as much less important persons than, for instance Matthew Csák or Amadeus Aba.