Royals and the battle against ALS

To mark ALS Awareness Month, we are highlighting the royals who are helping organisations find a cure for the terminal illness.

ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is a terminal neurological disease, and royals across Europe are involved in organisations that work to find a cure.

Which royals are involved in the fight against ALS?

The royals who are involved directly and indirectly include the Princess Royal, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Astrid of Belgium, and Queen Letizia of Spain.

The Princess Royal is the patron of the Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Association in Scotland. MND is what ALS is called in the United Kingdom.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is an honorary member of the Swedish Brain Foundation, which helps those suffering from neurological disorders.

The Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation, a foundation that helps universities with research on neurosciences, counts Princess Astrid of Belgium as their honorary president.

Queen Letizia of Spain is also the honorary president of the Spanish association for ALS, ADELA.

Prince Albert of Monaco also took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014, and the video was posted to the Prince’s Palace Facebook.

The Prince of Monaco said at the time: “I am very honoured and happy to be part of this extraordinary project, and I would be happy to make a personal donation to this.”

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands participated in the Amsterdam City Swim in September 2012. The event was organised to raise money and awareness for those battling ALS. The then-princess swam two kilometres in the murky waters of the Amsterdam canals in just under an hour.

The Mayo Clinic describes ALS this way: “ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing or slurred speech. Eventually ALS affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. There is no cure for this fatal disease.”

Symptoms vary from person to person, with most developing issues in their extremities. However, in its most progressive state, the illness begins where it ends – in the mouth, throat and lungs.

French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot discovered the disease in 1869. Still, it wasn’t until 1939 that ALS became well-known after Lou Gehrig, a New York Yankees first baseman, was diagnosed with the disease at the Mayo Clinic. His baseball career ended shortly after. His name became closely associated with ALS, with many referring to it as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.”