FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Albania may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of European royalty, but a scandal rocking the 'golden' royal couple has got everyone talking.
A video released 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 something is not quite right at home that claims the missing 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 hearts of the nation 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 dark royal dynasties.
True or false: Does Albania have a royal family?
The royal family of Albania has disappeared, but the descendants of the aristocratic house of Zog still hold honorary royal titles.
It all started in 1912, when Albania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the country for centuries. Among the people who helped sign Albania's declaration of independence was Ahmed Muhtar Zogoli, a political activist from an aristocratic family of wealthy landowners known as the Bird's House.
After 13 years holding various ministerial posts in the newly formed government, he was elected President of Albania – then quickly transformed the country into a kingdom and proclaimed himself Zogu I, King of Albania.
Bird 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.
Zogu 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.
But their world came crashing down when Italian fascists invaded and expelled the royal family in 1939.
After the Second World War, Albania fell under the communist rule of Enver Hoxha and the monarchy was dissolved. Hoxha hated Zogun I and the royal family so much that he is said to have punished the Albanians for possessing a photo of them.
Zogu and Geraldine lived in exile throughout 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 on the restoration of the Albanian monarchy in 1997, but lost, with over 66% of the electorate voting against its restoration.
Who is Crown Prince Leka II and his ex-wife Princess Elia?
The grandson of Bird I is Crown Prince Leka II, the current head of the House of Bird and claimant to the extinct Albanian throne.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Leka II said that he did not want Albania to become a monarchy again. The 41-year-old spent most of his childhood in South Africa, where his parents Leka I and Susan lived in exile.
Leka attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Great Britain and has been active in politics and diplomacy throughout his life, working as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Albanian Presidents.
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 director.
The couple had a lavish wedding ceremony in 2016, attended by more than 20 royals from around the world, with guests including King Charles III's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent.
They settled in Tirana, the capital of Albania, and welcomed their first child in 2020, Princess Geraldine, whom they named after Leka's late grandmother.
However, in January, the couple announced their split in a post on Instagram, saying their relationship had 'lost its function' but that their daughter would 'remain at the center of their attention'. /Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Metro"
Lini një Përgjigje