The death of Prince Frederik of Nassau, at the age of 22, has caused deep sadness in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, but also among citizens worldwide who have been touched by his story. Son of Robert of Luxembourg -cousin of the current sovereign, Grand Duke Henri-, he suffered from one of the so-called rare diseases, the PolG disease, a genetic mitochondrial disorder that deprives the body's cells of energy, leading to dysfunction and progressive failure of multiple organs.
Interestingly, despite being a relatively unknown member of royalty, his father had recently shared details of his case to raise awareness among the public and, above all, to support the PolG Foundation, an organization founded by the family to promote research on this chronic disorder.
Additionally, the Nassau family shared the last images of Frederik last January, during the civil wedding of his sister, Princess Charlotte, to Mansour Shakarchi, which took place in the Swiss city of Gstaad. Princess Charlotte herself used the interest generated by her wedding to promote the foundation, aiming to give the greatest possible boost to the search for treatments and a cure for PolG disease.
The young prince's passing occurred in Paris on March 1st - just a day after International Rare Disease Day was commemorated. However, it was not until this weekend that his father announced the news in a detailed statement published on the Foundation's website.
Robert of Luxembourg also shared the moving account of his son's final moments and what he said to all their loved ones. As he explained, a day before his death, "Frederik found the strength and courage to bid farewell to each of us."
"On Rare Disease Day, our beloved son called us to his room to speak with him one last time," he shared. "He had already expressed all his feelings to his extraordinary mother, who had not left his side in 15 years. After giving each of us our farewells (some kind, some wise, some instructive) in true Frederik style, he collectively left us with one last family joke. Even in his final moments, his humor and boundless compassion compelled him to leave us with one last laugh... to uplift us all," he added.
Robert of Luxembourg also revealed that his son's last question was, "Dad, are you proud of me?" - words that took him by surprise, as he confessed. "He had barely been able to speak for several days, so the clarity of these words was as surprising as the intensity of the moment. The answer was very easy and I had heard it many times... but at that moment, he needed the reassurance that he had contributed everything he could in his short and beautiful life and that he could now finally move on."
Frederik was not diagnosed with his disease until 2016, when he was 14 years old. Apparently, the father-in-law of Prince Robert, a professor and surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as reported by ¡Hola! magazine, was the one who managed to determine what exactly was happening to him. As the Grand Duke's cousin shared, "it is a very difficult disease to diagnose and has no treatments, let alone a cure".
In an interview with the Danish magazine Virgule, Robert of Luxembourg recently explained that shortly after Frederik's birth, they realized that something was not normal: "He was a baby who slept while others ran around. Later on, balance and coordination problems were added. He was losing strength and getting sick more often." The prince, with immense pride as a father, highlighted the personality of his third child, his adaptability, and strength: "He is sociable, has a large circle of friends, and has always been the center of attention at every party. He is super positive and cheerful," he emphasized.
Robert of Luxembourg (1968), Prince of Bourbon Parma, is a member of the grand ducal family reigning in the wealthy Central European country. He is the son of Prince Charles of Luxembourg, the youngest of the offspring of Grand Duchess Charlotte, one of the most beloved figures in the nation's history.
Prince Robert married Julie Ongaro in 1994 in Boston. The marriage produced three children, with the title of Counts of Nassau: the aforementioned Charlotte (1995), Alexander (1997), and Frederik (2002). In 2004, Grand Duke Henri revised the rules of internal titling in his family. By decree, he granted the title of Royal Highness to the wife and descendants of his cousin Robert, as well as the title of Princes of Nassau, in order to "show publicly Our affection and Our benevolence to certain members of Our family," as stated in the legally binding text.
The Nassau family is not the only royal family deeply involved in the research of rare diseases, particularly in Frederik's case. For instance, in our country, Queen Letizia has become a staunch advocate for this cause.