Prince Frederik of Luxembourg Dies at 22 from Rare Genetic Disorder

The young royal, who co-founded the POLG Foundation to advance research into mitochondrial diseases, passed away after years of battling POLG-related complications.

Prince Frederik of Luxembourg, son of Prince Robert and Princess Julie, passed away on March 1 at age 22 due to POLG mitochondrial disease, a rare genetic disorder affecting cellular energy production.
Diagnosed at 14, Frederik co-founded the POLG Foundation in 2022 to fund research and raise awareness about the disease, which has no cure and impacts multiple organ systems.
The POLG Foundation has funded $3.6 million in research, launched international studies, and developed tools to track disease progression, with implications for other conditions like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
Frederik was remembered by his father as a resilient and compassionate leader, whose positivity and humor inspired many despite the challenges of his illness.
His death has drawn attention to the broader need for research into mitochondrial diseases, which affect approximately 1 in 5,000 people globally.