Known as the House of Zogu, the defunct Albanian throne is one of Europe’s most fascinating royal dynasties (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
Albania might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of European royalty – but a scandal rocking the family’s golden couple has got everyone talking.
A leaked video showing an alleged physical altercation between Crown Prince Leka II, 41, his glamorous wife Princess Elia, 41, and Elia’s 73-year-old father suggests all is not well in the house that lays claim to the defunct Albanian throne.
It comes two months after Crown Prince Leka II and Princess Elia announced the end of their marriage in an Instagram post, declaring that the union had ‘lost its function’.
But who are the couple who captured the nation’s hearts when they tied the knot eight years ago, and how did they end up here?
Here’s everything we know about the controversy rocking Albania’s royal family, one of Europe’s most fascinating and obscure royal dynasties.
Crown Prince Leka II and Princess Elia with their daughter Princes Geradine on her second birthday in Tirana, Albania, October 2022 (Picture: Shutterstock)
True or false: Does Albania have a royal family?
Albania’s royal family is defunct, but descendants of the aristocratic House of Zog still bear honorary royal titles.
It all started in 1912, when Albania declared independence from the powerful but faltering Ottoman Empire which had ruled the country for centuries.
Among the men who helped to sign Albania’s declaration of independence was Ahmed Muhtar Zogoli, a political activist from an aristocratic family of wealthy landowners, known as the House of Zogu.
After 13 years holding various minsiterial positions in the newly formed government, he was elected President of Albania – then quickly transformed the country into a kingdown and declared himself Zog I, King of Albania.
Zog I was a controversial character. His reign was marked by censorship, curbs on civil liberties and dozens of assassination attempts – today he is widely regarded as a dictator.
Zog I married Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Appony, an American heiress who became Queen of Albania, and the couple had one child, Crown Prince Leka I.
The wedding of King Zog I of Albania to Countess Geraldine Apponyi of Nagyappony in Tirana, April 27 1938 (Picture: Mondadori Collection via Getty Images)
But their world came crashing down when Italy’s fascists invaded and expelled the royal family in 1939.
After World War Two, Albania came under the communist rule of Enver Hoxha and the monarchy was dissolved. Hoxha hated Zog I and the royal family so much, he is said to have punished Albanians for possessing a photo of them.
Zog and Geraldine lived in exile for the rest of their lives, moving between Greece, England and Egypt.
Their son Leka settled in South Africa and married Susan Cullen-Ward. The family returned to Albania after the Communist state collapsed in 1991 and Leka launched an attempted coup.
He led a referendum to restore the Albanian monarchy in 1997, but lost, with over 66% of the electorate voting against its return.
Enver Hoxha addresses a rally on July 24,1953 (Picture: Bettmann Archive)
Who is Crown Prince Leka II and his ex-wife Princess Elia?
Zog I’s grandson is Crown Prince Leka II, current head of the House of Zogu and a claimant to the defunct Albanian throne.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Leka II said he did not want Albania to become a monarchy again.
The 41-year-old spent much of his childhood in South Africa, where his parents Leka I and Susan lived in exile.
Leka attended Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in the UK and has been active in politics and diplomancy throughout his life, working as an advisor within the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior and the Albanian Presidents Office.
Albania’s pretender to the throne, Crown Prince Leka Zogu II, the grandson of self-proclaimed King Zog and his wife Elia Zaharia leave the Palace of Brigades after their wedding ceremony in Tirana on October 8, 2016 (Picture: AFP)
Leka met actress and singer Elia Zaharia, 41, in 2008, and the pair got engaged in Paris in 2010.
Elia’s mother is a glamorous actress and her brother is an actor and film director.
The couple had a lavish wedding ceremony in 2016 which was attended by more than 20 royal families from across the world, with guests including King Charles III’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent.
They settled in Tirana, Albania’s capital, and welcomed their first child, Princess Geraldine in 2020, who they named after Leka’s late grandmother.
However, in January, the couple announced their separation in an Instagram post, saying their relationship had ‘lost its function’ but that their daughter will ‘remain at the centre of their attention’.
Crown Prince, Leka II of Albania and Elia Zaharia on their wedding day with Prince Radu, Magareta, custodian of the Crown of Romania, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, HRH Princess Marie-Christine of Kent, Prince Michel of Greece and Princess Marina of Greece (Picture: Getty Images)
An alleged brawl
Neither Leka nor Elia gave further comment on the situation until a video surfaced online earlier this week.
Crown Prince Leka II sought police intervention following an alleged brawl that took place on 5 March.
Elia returned home to find her ex-husband in an altercation with her father, Gjergj Polikron Zaharia, 73, Albanian Daily News reported.
‘The conflict has nothing to do with me, except that I tried to stop it. I am following the judicial path for everything,’ she said.
Elia has since made her Instagram account, where she has 77,000 followers, private.
Princess Elia Zaharia of Albania, Prince Leka of Albania and Crown Prince Nicolas of Montenegro attend the 80th Birthday of King Simeon of Bulgaria on June 15, 2017 in Sofia, Bulgaria (Picture: Getty)
Representatives for the Albanian royal family said Leka was ‘physically attacked with strong objects by his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law’.
When footage of the incident appeared online, a palace spokesperson accused the police of leaking the video.
‘The Royal Court deeply expresses disappointment with law enforcement institutions that we suspect have violated the right to anonymity by distributing third-party videos,’ they said in a statement.
‘The Royal Court also seeks the intervention of the police and relevant institutions for deleting these images from social networks and media.’