Two weeks after Prince Frederik of Luxembourg died from POLG, a documentary filmmaker has revealed that the 22-year-old struggled to “get up by himself” as he battled the rare genetic disorder in an interview with Us Weekly.
POLG or DNA polymerase subunit gamma is a genetic disorder affects 1 in 5,000 people and drains the body’s cells of energy leading to multiple organ dysfunction and failure.
Strength through adversity
Director Mei Fa Tan filmed Frederik’s battle with the disease for a short film commissioned by his mother, Princess Julia of Nassau, to help educate the people about the disease. The director said that while she was “inspired” by the young prince, she also found it “painful to watch” him struggle.
The prince’s foundation released the short film six months before his death for Mitochondrial Awareness Week. “[He was] so interested in so many topics. He would love to talk about basically anything. Mostly film and music … But his body would not allow him to do as much. So that was really painful to watch because he was trying his best,” the director said, adding that the young man was unable to get up by himself due to the advanced nature of his disease.
However, she said that the prince, who was born with the disease but was only diagnosed at age 14, always kept his humour alive even in grave situations. “I thought it was very, very sad, and I was very touched by this because this is not how life is supposed to go. For Frederick, he just started to experience lots of things, and everything was taken away from him, bit by bit in an inevitable way. I found this very hurtful,” she said.
Frederik’s legacy
Prince Frederik’s death was announced by his father, Prince Robert in a statement on the website of the POLG Foundation, where he called his son “my superhero”. Frederik founded the organisation to promote research and find a cure for the disease.
“When you’re a kid, you’ve got all these dreams, all these aspirations, these things you want to do. The possibilities are endless. I’m not sure I understood all the consequences of PolG when I first got diagnosed. It’s more subtle, where slowly, the world is getting smaller and smaller,” Prince Frederik said in a voice-over at the start of the film.
The POLG Foundation is currently funding major research projects, totaling over $3.6 million, and Frederik even participated in medical trials to further the research to find a cure for it.
