Stories about King Bao Dai and his official children have been told a lot in the press. But not everyone knows the story about the 13th and youngest son of the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty.

A chance encounter between a VNA reporter in France provided an interesting insight into the personal life of the youngest son of the former king of Annam, Patrick-Édouard Bloch, and his connection to royal origins.

At a luxurious apartment on the banks of the Ill River flowing through the beautiful city of Strasbourg, Mr. Patrick-Édouard Bloch, the youngest son of the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, King Bao Dai, received us in a living room decorated with Eastern and Western souvenirs and paintings.

A photo of his father, King Bao Dai, and his mother, Christiane Bloch-Carcenac, is placed on a table next to the sofa where he often sat to receive guests.

"My mother met the Emperor on a hunting trip, when he came to Alsace in 1957. He was the guest of Count Jean de Beaumont and so was my mother," Patrick-Édouard Bloch began his story with the fateful meeting between King Bao Dai and his mother, Mrs. Christiane Bloch-Carcenac, a woman from the French Alsace region.

This relationship lasted ten years, and Mr. Patrick-Édouard Bloch was the result of that love affair. He was the 13th and youngest son of the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty.

For Patrick-Édouard, his childhood was not easy. He grew up in a Jewish family in Erstein, Alsace, with Georges Bloch - his mother's husband - whom he always thought was his father.

The truth about Patrick-Édouard's royal origins was only revealed by chance, when he was about 8 or 9 years old, during an outing in Paris with King Bao Dai, whom he always thought was a close family friend.

According to Patrick-Édouard, at that time, in the elevator of the George V Hotel in Paris, a waiter saw a boy entering with King Bao Dai and asked who he was. The Emperor simply replied: "This is my son."

This moment revealed the truth about Patrick-Édouard's true identity, creating a great psychological shock and deeply affecting his later life.

"I have a lot of my father's traits. In France, people called me 'little Bao Dai'. People treated me very differently, sometimes well, sometimes not," he recalls. "I had a very strict upbringing, a bit like my father when he was young. My mother was very strict."

He was always dressed in fancy clothes like an "old boy," without freedom, unable to do what he wanted. In the setting of France in the 1960s, Patrick-Édouard always lived with the feeling of "being the different kid."

Special relationship with King Bao Dai

For Patrick-Édouard, the most remarkable thing in his life was the close relationship between him and his emperor father.

The rare happy moments in my childhood memories were the afternoons when King Bao Dai came to pick me up: "My only joy was meeting him. He came to pick me up from school in a very nice car, every day, at 5pm. For a child, being picked up in a nice car was a great joy."

Although not an official son, Patrick-Édouard had the opportunity to be close to King Bao Dai from a young age until his death in 1997.

Unlike his half-brothers, Patrick-Édouard Bloch had a very close relationship with his father. He believed that King Bao Dai always had special affection for him partly because he was the youngest son and was favored more than the others, but mostly because the two got along very well.

In his autobiography titled "Tu dois l'appeler Majesté" (I Must Call You Your Majesty), Patrick-Édouard Bloch recounts his eventful life story, in which he devotes a large chapter to his father, King Bao Dai.

He emphasized: "He always left a deep impression on me and played a big role in shaping the person I am today."

Patrick-Édouard inherited many of his father's traits, both in appearance and personality. Not only did he resemble Bao Dai's face, he also shared many of his father's traits, such as his dynamism, work ethic, and composure in the face of adversity.

He also shared many of his father's interests, especially his passion for cars and airplanes. In contrast to his reserved public image, King Bao Dai was described in his autobiography as "a wonderful father."

Every week he went to Paris to see his father. They went for walks, had dinner together and talked about many topics from history, politics to philosophy, along with deep thoughts about life and humanism.

In his book, Patrick-Édouard recalled: "We shared many moments and had many opportunities to talk at length. I was one of the few people to whom His Majesty was willing to confide frankly and without reserve... He not only shared with me his life, but also gave me useful advice on how to live it."

Bao Dai's advice and philosophy of life had a profound influence on Patrick-Édouard. One of the pieces of advice from his father that he remembered fondly was: "Never go into politics, Patrick, you will lose your soul. I have spent most of my life in politics and now I am glad to be free of it!"

Despite their closeness, their father-son relationship was still heavily royal: "I never called him Father. I always called him Your Majesty or Sir."

In the 1980s, Emperor Bao Dai offered to officially recognize him as his son and give him the title of "Prince," but Patrick-Édouard refused, finding it "unnecessary."

"It was just a procedure and without it, our relationship would not change," he affirmed in a conversation with a VNA reporter in France, and this was also mentioned in his memoir.

Until his retirement, Patrick-Édouard Bloch worked as an ordinary businessman in France.

Formerly Chairman and General Director of construction stores and supermarkets, he is now retired and lives a happy life in Strasbourg, together with Eric Humbert, his companion since 1995.

In 2021, he released an autobiographical memoir titled "Tu dois l'appeler Majesté." The story is about the author's search for identity, as well as the pain of growing up without knowing his true origins, feeling isolated and different, and finally the process of accepting and reconciling with his complicated past.

The book is not only a story about a boy growing up amidst family secrets, but also a window into the unknown corners of Vietnam's last royal family.

Sharing with reporters, he expressed his desire to return to his roots, visit the ancient capital of Hue, and burn incense at the ancestral altar, where the history of the Nguyen Dynasty with 13 kings is preserved.

Although he has never set foot in his father's homeland, Vietnam is always present in his heart through souvenirs, stories and pride in his origin.

He said he regularly follows the news back home and is "very proud of what is happening in Vietnam," feeling happy that Vietnam is still preserving the Nguyen Dynasty's heritage and the UNESCO-recognized Hue Imperial City.

He also maintained contact with some members of the royal family through letters, and built good relations with the Vietnamese community in France.

"I think the Vietnamese are a very friendly people. All the relationships I have with the Vietnamese are, really, perfect and sincere."

Hopefully one day in the not too distant future, his dream of setting foot in Vietnam and visiting his royal ancestors will come true, as a journey to close the circle of history in which he, the last son of King Bao Dai, is a living witness to a special historical period, a bridge between the past and the present and between France and Vietnam./.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/con-ut-cua-vua-bao-dai-tu-ky-uc-voi-vua-cha-den-mong-uoc-tro-ve-coi-nguon-post287078.html