Dutch Prince Johan Friso, the second son of Queen Beatrix, might never regain consciousness following a serious avalanche accident in Austria, his doctors said.
"It can't be said with certainty at this point whether Prince Friso will ever regain consciousness again," Wolfgang Koller, head of the trauma unit at Innsbruck University Hospital, told a press conference.
"In any case, a neurological rehabilitation will be required that will take months, if not years."
The 43-year-old prince was caught in an avalanche while skiing off-piste with a friend in the Austrian ski resort of Lech a week ago.
He was taken by helicopter to Innsbruck University Hospital but nevertheless spent 20 minutes under the snow, according to various reports.
"Due to the amount of time spent under the snow, his brain was not supplied with sufficient oxygen," Dr Koller said.
"This resulted in a heart attack that lasted about 50 minutes. During this whole time, the patient had to be reanimated.
"50 minutes of reanimation is very, very long, one might even say too long.
"Our hope was that the patient's mild hypothermia would provide some protection for the brain. This hope was not realised."
Doctors were able to do an MRI scan on the prince for the first time yesterday and "it's clear that the lack of oxygen caused massive damage in the patient's brain," Dr Koller said.
"The family of Prince Friso will now look for an appropriate facility for the rehabilitation," he added.
These were the first official details given on the prince's health since his accident last Friday.
Until now, the Dutch Royal House had limited itself to saying he was "stable, but not out of danger," with the hospital refusing to comment.
The Dutch royal family regularly spends its skiing holiday in Lech, in western Vorarlberg province.
Queen Beatrix, 74, as well as the prince's wife Mabel Wisse Smit have made regular visits to his bedside this week, as have Johan Friso's brothers, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, his wife Maxima and younger brother Prince Constantijn with his wife Princess Laurentien.
Although the second son of Queen Beatrix, Johan Friso is no longer in line for the throne after he married in 2004 without the government's permission.
