Luxembourg's Royal Family Reveals Prince Frederik Has Died From a Rare Disease at Age 22

Luxembourg's Royal Family has announced the death of Prince Frederick at 22 years old.

Frederick's father, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, shared a statement regarding his son's death on the POLG Foundation website. "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," the statement explained.

Prince Robert continued, "Last Friday, February 28, 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." Prince Robert praised his wife, Princess Julie of Nassau, "who had not left [Frederick's] side in 15 years."

Sharing the incredible impact the late prince had on everyone's lives, Prince Robert wrote, "Frederik's last question to me...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." Although Prince Robert had regularly told his son just how proud he was of him, "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."

Frederick made it his life's work to raise awareness of the rare medical condition he lived with. "Frederik was born with a Rare Disease; POLG Mitochondrial disease," Prince Robert explained. "As is the case for 300 million people like Frederik worldwide, these diseases are usually hard to recognize 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."

Prince Frederik discovered he had POLG when he was 14, "when his symptoms were showing more clearly and when the progression of his disease had become more acute." The condition manifests in a multitude of different ways, making it extremely difficult to diagnose. "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," Prince Robert wrote. "One might compare it to having a faulty battery that never fully recharges, is in a constant state of depletion and eventually loses power."

By founding the POLG Foundation, Prince Frederick made a huge contribution to research into the condition, which won't be forgotten.