Prince of Luxembourg dies at 22

A prince of Luxembourg has just died at the age of only 22. 

The news of Prince Frederik's passing was announced by his father, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, USA Today reports.

Per the outlet:

Robert and his wife, Princess Julie of Nassau, announced Frederik's death on the POLG Foundation website, a nonprofit, United States-based charity Frederik founded in 2022.

The announcement can be read, in its entirety, here.

"A very heavy heart"

Prince Robert wrote, "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."

Later in the letter, Prince Robert went on to explain Frederik's likely cause of death.

He wrote:

Although we did not know this, at the time of his birth, Frederik was born with a Rare Disease; POLG Mitochondrial disease. As is the case for 300 million people like Frederik worldwide, these diseases are usually hard to recognise even by physicians, and patients’ families may never know what they are suffering from as they may only be identified very late in their progression. Frederik was diagnosed with POLG at the age of 14, when his symptoms were showing more clearly and when the progression of his disease had become more acute."

Robert went on to explain how "POLG disease is a genetic mitochondrial disorder that robs the body’s cells of energy, in turn causing progressive multiple organ (brain, nerves, liver, intestines, muscles, swallowing and ocular function, etc.) dysfunction and failure."

This is what led to Prince Frederik's early passing.

The last conversation

Elsewhere in the letter, Prince Robert describes his son's final days.

He wrote:

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. 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.

Robert described his son as "my superhero."

"Frederik’s last question to me, prior to his other remarks was: 'Papa, are you proud of me?' 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 wrote.

The prince added, "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."