Over the weekend, Prince Robert of Luxembourg shared the heartbreaking news that his 22-year-old son, Prince Frederik, had passed away from POLG Mitochondrial disease, which he was diagnosed with at 14.
The Luxembourg royal posted the statement on the POLG Foundation's official website, a charity Prince Frederik was founder and creative director of.
Explaining the creation of the foundation, Prince Robert said his son "jumped at the opportunity" to help find a cure and help others like him.
© Instagram"Frederik voiced his gratitude for having his disease," Prince Robert shared. "Speaking to a friend of ours [Frederik said], "I am glad that I am the one who was born with this disease. Even though I'll die from it and even if my parents do not have the time to save me, I know that they will be able to save other children".
What is POLG Mitochondrial disease?
A rare condition affecting one in 5,000 people, The POLG Foundation describes it as a genetic disorder that robs the body's cells of energy, causing progressive multiple-organ dysfunction and failure.
© Instagram"One might compare it to having a faulty battery that never fully recharges and is in a constant state of depletion. The disease is uncommon, so no one knows how many patients there are."
Symptoms of POLG Mitochondrial disease
The symptoms can be mild to severe, according to the foundation's website and often include ophthalmoplegia, muscle weakness, epilepsy and liver failure. "Because POLG disease causes such a wide range of symptoms and affects so many different organ systems, it is very difficult to diagnose and treat," they write.
Can POLG Mitochondrial disease be cured?
"For all patients with POLG disorders, the future is deeply uncertain," the foundation says. "There are no effective treatments, let alone a cure that might save them. Every day they witness their own degeneration and progressive loss of function, a harrowing life experience."
Prince Frederik's passing
Of his son's death, Prince Robert wrote: "Frederik fought his disease valiantly until the very end. His indomitable lust for life propelled him through the hardest of physical and mental challenges."
The royal went on to share that in recent months, his son was hospitalised with pneumonia and another serious infection.
Though he was not diagnosed with the disease until he was 14, Frederik's father explained his son was born with the condition, eventually diagnosed when his symptoms "were showing more clearly and when the progression of his disease had become more acute."
© HELLO!Of the illness, an eminent professor and member of The POLG Foundation Scientific Advisory Board Sir Douglas Turnbull, said: "I have looked after hundreds of patients with mitochondrial disease and there is little doubt that of all mitochondrial diseases, POLG deficiency is the worst. It is so relentlessly progressive, attacking so many different systems with sadly the same conclusion."
Even in the most heartbreaking of circumstances, Prince Robert managed to channel some of his late son's positivity, signing off his message: "Frederik passed on March 1st 2025, in Paris France, the City of Lights. One light was extinguished, but so many remain."
