King Zog of Albania

It was always fashionable, nay necessary, to find a new place every year where to flee from the brutal cold of a Canadian winter.

Getting to Florida was easy, so it was first choice, followed by Mexico and then the Caribbean. Spain was next, and, recently,  Portugal and now Albania.

We planned a trip to Budapest during the spring so decided, though with trepidation, on a detour to Albania. I knew almost nothing about the place except that it was supposed to have beautiful beaches.

The formation of an Albanian national consciousness dates to the later 19th century and is part of the larger phenomenon of the rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire.

A short-lived monarchical state known as the Principality of Albania (1914–1925) was succeeded by an even shorter-lived first Albanian Republic (1925–1928). Another monarchy, the Kingdom of Albania (1928–1939), replaced the republic. The country endured occupation by Italy just prior to World War Two (1939–1945). After the Armistice of Cassibile between Italy and the Allies, Albania was occupied by Nazi Germany. Following the collapse of the Axis powers, Albania became a one-party communist state.

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What a mess…but intriguing!

I searched further and stumbled on a story about the life of a person called King Zog I, who was apparently the first and also the last Albanian King. (His predecessors called themselves by various titles like “Lord of Albania”, or “Prince” or “Leader”…)

Zog I, King of the Albanians, born 8 October 1895 was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. He first was Prime Minister of Albania 1922–1924), then  President (1925–1928), and finally, as the first and only King (1928–1939) of Albanian Ancestry.

On 27 April 1938, King Zog I married the impoverished Hungarian Countess Geraldine Margit Virginia Olga Mária Apponyi de Nagy-Appony in a grand ceremony at Tirana. The Official Witness at the wedding was Count Ciano, Mussolini’s Foreign Minister. Hitler sent a Red Mercedes Benz as wedding gift.

Zog’s mother Sadije, was declared Queen Mother of Albania (she supervised  the Royal kitchen to prevent poisoning attempts) and Zog gave his brother and sisters (he had six) Royal status as Prince and Princesses Zogu.

A year after the marriage, two days after the birth of Zog’s son and heir apparent Leka, on April 7, 1939 (Good Friday), Mussolini (King Zog’s supposed “great Friend”), invaded Albania. The Italian Army faced no significant resistance. The ill-equipped Albanian army, infiltrated by Italian advisors and officers, was no match for it. The Italians were, however, resisted by small elements in the Albanian gendarmerie and the general population.

The royal family, realizing that their lives were in danger, fled into exile, taking with them a considerable amount of gold from the National Bank of Tirana and Durrës. (Since the royal family had expected an Italian invasion, the gathering of gold had started well in advance of the invasion).

King Zog’s last words to Geraldine on Albanian soil about his reign were: “Oh God, it was so short.” (Wikipedia)

The family went into exile for 22 years and lived comfortably for a while at the London Ritz-Carlton hotel. Handsome, courteous, reserved and ruthless, (he had many of those who opposed him assassinated) Zog was a chain-smoker who enjoyed western classical music and films starring Charlie Chaplin and Shirley Temple. He survived 55 assassination attempts on his life, made his final home in France and died at the age of 65 of an undisclosed condition at the Foch Hospital in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine on 9 April 1961.

After her husband died, Geraldine took the title Queen Mother and asserted the rights of her son Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, to rule. She and Leka fled successively to Spain, Rhodesia, and South Africa. Geraldine was allowed to return to Albania in 2002, and she died that year aged 87.

As for the beautiful Albanian beaches: we plan to visit them in June (they are only 90 minutes by air from Budapest) and hope to tell you all about them in my Canada Day Blog. (July 1).