:''In the Vietnamese name below,'' Nguyễn ''is the surname.'' Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long, Crown Prince of Vietnam (阮福保隆, 4 January 1936 – 28 July 2007) was the eldest son of Bảo Đại and Queen Nam Phương. He was the last crown prince of the Nguyễn dynasty in Vietnamese history. He had one younger brother, Bảo Thăng, and three younger sisters, Phuong Mai, Phuong Lien and Phuong Dung, all of whom live in France.

Biography

Bảo Long was born at Kien-Trung Palace,

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

on 4 January 1936, to Emperor

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , , 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc (Phước) Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was ''de jure'' em ...

and his first wife, Empress

Nam Phương Empress Nam Phương (14 November 1913 – 16 September 1963), born Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan, was the last empress consort of Vietnam. She was the wife of Bảo Đại (), the last emperor of Vietnam (officially named as Names ...

. On 7 March 1939, he was invested and proclaimed Crown Prince, the official heir to the throne, in a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

ceremony at Can-Chanh Palace in Huế. In 1947, Empress Nam Phuong left Vietnam with the crown prince and his siblings. They lived at the Château Thorenc outside

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, France, and he grew up as a member of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. File:Bao-Long-so-sinh.jpg, Infant Bảo Long (1936) File:S. A. I. le Prince Bao-long, 1936.jpg , Little prince File:Young prince Bao Long.jpg, Young crown prince in Crown prince royal dress (1939) File:Crown prince Bao Long.jpg, Young crown prince at Crown prince ceremony (1939)

Education

He received his education at the École des Roches boarding school at Maslacq, then at Clères,

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. He then went to Paris and studied law and political science to prepare him to serve on state affairs. In 1953, Crown Prince Bảo Long attended the

coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

in London, as a representative of the Vietnamese Imperial Family.

Military service

Crown Prince Bảo Long served in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

in the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

and he highly distinguished himself, earning the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

(Cross of Military Valor) with three stars for his courage in battle. His other decorations are the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit, the decoration of the Golden Gong 2nd Class, the Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of Cambodia The Royal Order of Cambodia (, ; ) was a colonial order of chivalry of French Cambodia, and is still in use as an order of chivalry in the present-day Kingdom of Cambodia. History Colonialism On 8 February 1864, the king founded the Royal Orde ...

, the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol of Laos and the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. After 10 years of service in the French Foreign Legion, he returned to Paris, France, where he worked in a bank.The Nguyen Phuoc Dynasty Genealogy
Royal Ark He spent the remainder of his life as an investment banker.

Head of the Imperial House

In 1997, when the Emperor Bảo Đại died, Bảo Long inherited the position of head of the House of Nguyễn Phúc. He remained out of politics and lived quietly in Paris. File:Hoc3a0ng-te1bbad-be1baa3o-long.jpg, Crown prince Bảo Long. File:5-anh-em-thai-tu-bao-long-1600855805.jpg, Crown prince Bảo Long (left) and younger siblings. File:Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long.jpg , Crown prince Bảo Long in traditional Ao Dai. Following the death of Bảo Đại, Bảo Long allegedly sold the sword that was handed over in the 1945 abdication ceremony. During his time as head of the house, Bảo Long worked with Prince Bảo Vàng, who was appointed Grandmaster of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam in 2005. The focus of the order is on humanitarian, educational, and cultural endeavours of the people of Vietnam. Although the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League wish to restore the Nguyễn dynasty to the throne under a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

, as in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, Bảo Long did not support their political aspirations. Crown Prince Bao Long died at the Le Centre Hospitalier Gaston Ramon,

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

on 28 July 2007, with his brother, Bảo Thăng, succeeding him as head of the house.

Personal life

From the late 1960s until the early 1970s, Bảo Long was the companion of Isabelle Hebey (died 1996), an interior designer, who worked on his Paris residence. Though they planned to wed in June 1969,''The loversville, NYLeader Herald'', 22 February 1969, page 4 after Hebey's divorce from architect Marc Delanne, the marriage did not take place.

Honours

National

* Sovereign and Grand Master of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam. * The Boi Decoration, 1st class. * Knight Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit of Vietnam (15 June 1954).

Foreign

* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol (Kingdom of Laos). * Knight Grand Cross of the

(Kingdom of Cambodia). * Knight Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (French Republic). *

Cross for Military Valour The Cross for Military Valour () is a military decoration of France. It recognizes an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations which are not subject to the award of ...

with red, silver and bronze stars (French Republic, 1958). *

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

(French Republic). * North Africa Medal (French Republic, 1997). *

(United Kingdom, 2 June 1953).

References

Announcement of Crown Prince Bao Long's death by The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam

– by Edward J. Emering & John Sylvester, Jr.
Vietnamese crown prince passes away

The video about the official heir to the throne, in a

ceremony at Can-Chanh Palace in Huế on 7 March 1939. {{Authority control 1936 births 2007 deaths Pretenders to the Vietnamese throne Vietnamese Roman Catholics Heirs apparent who never acceded Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion People of the Algerian War Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia Vietnamese expatriates in France Nguyen dynasty princes Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour Vietnamese monarchists Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite