Prince Frederik, the youngest son of Prince Robert of Luxembourg and Princess Julie of Nassau, has died on the age of twenty-two.
He handed away on March 1 from POLG Mitochondrial illness, a uncommon genetic dysfunction.
Prince Robert, the primary cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, shared the information on the web site of the POLG Basis, a company Frederik based to advertise analysis and discover a treatment for the illness.
“It is with a very heavy heart that my wife and I would like to inform you of the passing of our son,” Robert, 56, wrote in an emotional assertion.
He additionally shared that Frederik, sensing his time was quick, referred to as relations into his room “to speak to him one last time” on February 28, the day earlier than his dying, which was additionally occurred to be “Rare Disease Day.”
Robert stated that his son “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,” Robert added, referring to his spouse Julie, 58.
Frederik’s farewell messages had been “kind, wise, and instructive,” Robert continued, noting that his son left the household with “one last long-standing family joke.”
“Even in his last moments, his humor, and his boundless compassion, compelled him to leave us with one last laugh, to cheer us all up,” the daddy mirrored.
Prince Robert additionally shared that his son requested him a ultimate query: “Papa, are you proud of me?” Prince Frederik had struggled to talk for “several days” earlier than he died, in line with Robert, “so the clarity of these words was as surprising as the weight of the moment was profound.”
“The answer was very easy, and he had heard it oh so many times, but at this time, 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,” Robert defined.
“Frederik knows that he is my Superhero, as he is to all of our family, and to so very many good friends,” Robert continued. He described his son as an individual who was “born with a special capacity for positivity, joy, and determination.”
When Frederik was “little,” Robert remembered that he would usually say, “if there is one child of ours that I would never need to worry about, it was him.”
“He has social skills like no other, an amazing sense of humor, an emotional intelligence and compassion that were off the charts, a sense of justice, fairness and decency that knows no bounds,” he added. “He was disciplined and organized beyond belief.”
The royal additionally famous that Frederik was recognized for being “particularly headstrong,” admitting that “at times, I might have used the word stubborn.”
“As his siblings and most anyone who ever met him say, ‘Frederik is the strongest person that we know!’ ” his father stated. “Frederik fought his disease valiantly until the very end. His indomitable lust for life propelled him through the hardest of physical and mental challenges.”
Born with POLG Mitochondrial illness, Frederik’s situation wasn’t initially recognized. It wasn’t till he was 14 that the illness grew to become extra obvious and was formally recognized, because the signs worsened.
POLG Mitochondrial illness, as described by the POLG Basis, is a genetic mitochondrial dysfunction that impacts the physique’s cells, inflicting them to lose power and resulting in the progressive failure of a number of organs, together with the mind, nerves, liver, intestines, muscle tissue, and eyes.
Though Robert referred to the illness as a “burden” that Frederik carried all through his life, he praised his son for dealing with his challenges “with humor and grace.” He additionally expressed immense delight in Frederik’s work with the POLG Basis.
In his message, Robert inspired these studying his memorial to help the muse by donating or volunteering in reminiscence of his son.
Born in Aix-en-Provence, France, Frederik spent the primary two years of his life in London earlier than his household moved to Geneva, Switzerland in 2004 and later to Vevey and Montreux within the west Swiss province of Vaud.
Frederik attended the Worldwide Faculty in Geneva, Ecole Eden and St. George’s Faculty, in Clarens, Switzerland.
He’s survived by hello father, his mom Princess Julie of Nassau, his brother, Alexander, his sister, Charlotte, his three cousins, Charly, Louis, and Donall, his brother-in-law, Mansour, and his Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Mark.
