Bảo Long

In the Vietnamese name below, Nguyễn Phúc is the surname.

Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long (4 January 1936 – 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.

Bảo Long was born at Kien-Trung Palace, Huế on 4 January 1936, 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.

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

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

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, after Hebey's divorce from architect Marc Delanne, the marriage did not take place.[2]

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.

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.

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.

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.

National Honours

• 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 Honours

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol (Kingdom of Laos).
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia (Kingdom of Cambodia).
• Knight Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (French Republic).
• Cross for Military Valour with red, silver and bronze stars (French Republic, 1958).
• Croix de guerre (French Republic).
• North Africa Medal (French Republic, 1997).
• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (United Kingdom, 2 June 1953).