Bảo Long

Crown Prince Nguyễn Phước Bảo Long (4 January 1934 – 28 July 2007) was the eldest son of Bảo Đại, Vietnam's last emperor. He headed the former ruling house from 30 July 1997 until his death.[1]

In the Vietnamese name below, Nguyễn is the surname.
Nguyễn Phước Bảo Long
Crown prince
Prince Bảo Long
PredecessorBảo Đại
SuccessorBảo Thắng
Born(1934-01-04)4 January 1934
Kien-Trung Palace, Huế, French Indochina
Died28 July 2007(2007-07-28) (aged 73)
Sens, France
Burial
Chabrignac, Corrèze, France
SpouseThérèse Marie Delanne
HouseNguyễn dynasty
FatherBảo Đại
MotherNam Phương
Signature
Bảo Long
Vietnamese name
VietnameseNguyễn Phước Bảo Long
Hán-Nôm阮福保隆

Biography

Bảo Long was born at Kien-Trung Palace, Huế on 4 January 1934, to Emperor Bảo Đại 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 boarding 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 in London, as a representative of the Vietnamese Imperial Family.

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. 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.[2] He spent the remainder of his life as an investment banker.

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.[3]

During his time as head of the Nguyễn dynasty, 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.[4]

Although the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League wish to restore the Nguyễn dynasty to the throne under a constitutional monarchy, as in Cambodia and Thailand, Bảo Long did not support their political aspirations.[5]

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.

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.[6] Though they planned to wed in June 1969,[7] after Hebey's divorce from architect Marc Delanne, the marriage did not take place.[6]

Honours

National Honours

Foreign Honours

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent
Patrilineal descent
  1. Nguyễn Hoằng Dụ, 14??-1518
  2. Nguyễn Kim, 1468–1545
  3. Nguyễn Hoàng, 1525-1613
  4. Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, 1563-1635
  5. Nguyễn Phúc Lan, 1601-1648
  6. Nguyễn Phúc Tần, 1620-1687
  7. Nguyễn Phúc Trăn, 1649-1691
  8. Nguyễn Phúc Chu, 1675-1725
  9. Nguyễn Phúc Trú, 1696-1738
  10. Nguyễn Phúc Khoát, 1714–1765
  11. Nguyễn Phúc Luân, 1733-1765
  12. Gia Long, 1762–1820
  13. Minh Mạng, 1791–1841
  14. Thiệu Trị, 1807–1847
  15. Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Cai, 1845–1876
  16. Đồng Khánh, 1864–1889
  17. Khải Định, 1885–1925
  18. Bảo Đại, 1912–1997
  19. Bảo Long, 1934-2007
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See also

References
  1. Robert Trando Letters of a Vietnamese Émigré p.27, p.141 "Bảo Long"
  2. The Nguyen Phuoc Dynasty Genealogy, Royal Ark
  3. "Bao Long memorial". Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 2007-08-20.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  4. Purpose Order of the Dragon of Annam
  5. Order of the Dragon of Annam
  6. "Nerves of Steel". NY Times. 4 November 2011.
  7. The [Gloversville, NY] Leader Herald, 22 February 1969, page 4
Bảo Long
Born: 4 January 1934 Died: 28 July 2007
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Emperor Bảo Đại		 — TITULAR —
Emperor of Vietnam
30 July 1997 – 28 July 2007
Reason for succession failure:
Empire abolished in 1945		 Succeeded by
Prince Bảo Thắng
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