Prince Frederik, the youngest son of Prince Robert of Luxembourg and Princess Julie of Nassau, has died. He was 22.
Frederik died on 1 March from the rare genetic condition POLG Mitochondrial disease, his father announced in a message posted on the website for the POLG Foundation, an organisation founded by Frederik to help find treatments and a cure 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,” Prince Robert began his statement.
Detailing that Frederik “called us into his room to speak to him for one last time”, the royal explained 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,” the prince continued of his wife.
He then detailed that his “beloved son” asked him a final question: “Papa, are you proud of me?”
Frederik was born with POLG Mitochondrial disease and was diagnosed at age 14.