Bảo Long
| Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long | |
|---|---|
| Crown prince | |
 | |
| Predecessor | Bảo Đại |
| Successor | Bảo Thắng |
| Born | 4 January 1936 Huế, French Indochina |
| Died | 28 July 2007 (aged 71) Sens, France |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Thérèse Marie Delanne |
| House | Nguyen dynasty |
| Father | Bao Dai |
| Mother | Nam Phuong |
| Signature | .png) |
| Bao Long | |
|---|---|
| Vietnamese name | |
| Vietnamese | Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long |
| Hán-Nôm | 阮福保隆 |
Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long (4 January 1936 – 28 July 2007) was the eldest son of Bao Dai, Vietnam's last emperor. He headed the former ruling house from 30 July 1997 until his death.[1][2]
Early life
Bảo Long was born at Kien-Trung Palace, Huế on 4 January 1936, to Emperor Bao Dai and his first wife, Empress Nam Phương. On 7 March 1939, he was invested and proclaimed Crown Prince, the official heir to the throne, in a Confucian 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 Chateau Thorenz outside Cannes, France, and he grew up as a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
Education
He received his education at the École des Roches School at Maslacq, then at Clères, Normandy. 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 of the United Kingdom in London as a representative of the Vietnamese Imperial Family.[3]
Military service
Crown Prince Bảo Long served in the French Foreign Legion in the Algerian War and he highly distinguished himself, earning the Croix de guerre (Cross of Military Valor) with three stars for his courage in battle.[1] 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 Order of the Million Elephants and White Parasol of Laos and a commemorative medal for attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. After 10 years of service in the French Foreign Legion, he returned to Paris, France, where he worked in a bank.[1] He spent the remainder of his life as an investment banker.
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.[1] Though they planned to wed in June 1969,[4] after Hebey's divorce from architect Marc Delanne, the marriage did not take place.[2]
Head of the Imperial Family
In 1997, when the Emperor Bảo Đại died, Bảo Long inherited the position of head of the Nguyễn Dynasty. He remained out of politics and lived quietly in Paris.[5]
During his time as head of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Bao Long worked with Prince Bảo Vang, who was appointed Grandmaster of the 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.[6]
Although the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League wish to restore the Nguyễn Dynasty to the throne under a constitutional monarchy, as in Cambodia and Thailand, Bao Long did not support their political aspirations.[7]
Crown Prince Bao Long died at the Le Centre Hospitalier Gaston Ramon, Sens, Burgundy on 28 July 2007, with his brother, Bảo Thắng, succeeding him as head of the Nguyễn Dynasty.
References
- ^ a b c Royal Ark
- ^ Robert Trando Letters of a Vietnamese Émigré p.27, p.141 "Bảo Long"
- ^ Royal Ark
- ^ The [Gloversville, NY] Leader Herald, 22 February 1969, page 4
- ^ Archived 2009-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Purpose Order of the Dragon of Annam
- ^ Order of the Dragon of Annam
External links
- Announcement of Crown Prince Bao Long's death by The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam
- Official Website of the History of the Order of the Dragon of Annam – by Edward J. Emering & John Sylvester, Jr.
- Vietnamese crown prince passes away
- [3] The video about the official heir to the throne, in a Confucian ceremony at Can-Chanh Palace in Huế on 7 March 1939.
Heads of the House of Nguyễn Phúc since 1945 | ||
|---|---|---|
.svg) | ||
- Use dmy dates from September 2011
- 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
- Vietnamese expatriates in France
- Nguyen dynasty princes
- Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)
- Recipients of the Royal Order of Cambodia
- Recipients of the Croix de la Valeur Militaire
- Vietnamese monarchists
- Vietnamese anti-communists
- Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam
- Grand Croix of the Ordre national du Mérite