Prince Frederik of Luxembourg has died at the age of 22 after a long battle with a rare genetic condition. Prince Robert of Luxembourg, the first cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, who abdicated last year, announced the tragic passing of his youngest son.
Frederik of Nassau died on March 1, following a long battle with a rare genetic condition, POLG Mitochondrial disease. His devastated father mourned the news in a lengthy, heartfelt message posted to the POLG foundation, a website founded by his son and dedicated to finding effective treatments and a cure for POLG mitochondrial disorders. POLG disease is a rare genetic disorder that robs the body’s cells of energy, in turn causing progressive multiple organ dysfunction and failure, the foundation explained.
Frederik was born with the condition, but it was not diagnosed until he was 14, after his symptoms became more noticeable.
In a heartfelt statement, Prince Robert, 69, and his wife, Princess Julie of Nassau, 64, revealed their son’s heartbreaking last moments and how he took time to say goodbye to each family member individually.
The statement read: “It is with a very heavy heart that my wife and I would like to inform you of the passing of our son, The POLG Foundation Founder and Creative Director, Frederik.
“Last Friday, February 28th, on ‘Rare Disease Day’, our beloved son called us in to his room to speak to him for one last time.
“Frederik found the strength and the courage to say goodbye to each of us in turn – his brother, Alexander, his sister, Charlotte, me, his three cousins, Charly, Louis, and Donall, his brother-in-law, Mansour, and finally, his Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Mark.
“He had already spoken all that was in his heart to his extraordinary mother, who had not left his side in 15 years.”
“After gifting each of us with our farewells – some kind, some wise, some instructive – in true Frederik fashion, he left us collectively with a final long-standing family joke,” Prince Robert added.
“Even in his last moments, his humour, and his boundless compassion, compelled him to leave us with one last laugh… to cheer us all up.”
Tragically, in his final days, Frederik was unable to speak but still managed to ask his father a moving question.
“Frederik’s last question to me, prior to his other remarks was: ‘Papa, are you proud of me?'” Prince Robert said.
“He had barely been able to speak for several days, so the clarity of these words was as surprising as the weight of the moment was profound.
“He needed reassurance that he had contributed all that he possibly could in his short and beautiful existence and that he could now finally move on.”
Calling his son a “superhero”, Prince Robert recalled his son’s long fight with the condition, one he said Frederik fought valiantly to the end.
He said: “This is the battle that Frederik fought, and this is the burden that he had to carry throughout his life.
“He always did so with grace and with humour. When we asked him if he wanted to create a foundation to find a cure and help others like him, he jumped at the opportunity.
“Though he always made it very clear that he did not want this dreadful disease to define him, he nonetheless immediately identified with and helped define the mission of The POLG Foundation.
“Frederik knows that he is my Superhero, as he is to all of our family, and to so very many good friends and now in great part thanks to his POLG Foundation, to so very many people the world over. Part of his superpower was his ability to inspire and to lead by example.”
Underneath the moving announcement of his death, the family shared some of their favourite pictures of Frederik.
He was born in Aix-en-Provence in southern France and spent the first years of his life in London before moving to Geneva, Switzerland, where he later went to the International School.