03/10/2025

March 10, 2025

There is no cure or treatment for POLG mitochondrial disease, which attacks multiple organ systems. He passed away at the age of 22.

Prince Frederik of Luxembourg has died of a rare condition known as POLG mitochondrial disease, his family has said.

Frederik passed away on March 1 at the age of 22, his parents said in a statement shared on the POLG Foundation’s 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,” his father Prince Robert said.

Prince Robert is a first cousin of Luxembourg’s head of state, Grand Duke Henri.

What is POLG mitochondrial disease?

The foundation describes the extremely rare disease as a “genetic disorder that robs the body’s cells of energy, in turn causing progressive multiple organ dysfunction and failure.”

There is no cure or treatments for the disease, which causes a wide range of symptoms and affects different organ systems, the POLG statement explained.

The statement compared the disease to having a “faulty battery that never fully recharges, is in a constant state of depletion and eventually loses power.”

Frederik, who was born with the condition, was diagnosed at age 14. 

He said goodbye to his parents Robert and Julie, his brother Alexander and his sister Charlotte, and other members of his family on “Rare Disease Day”, which is marked on February 28.

“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,” Prince Robert said.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah