Leka, Crown Prince of Albania

[4] Just two days after his birth, King Zog I was forced into exile after Benito Mussolini's army invaded the country during the Italian invasion of Albania.[citation needed] He studied economics at the University of Geneva and at the Sorbonne, and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.The wedding reception, at a five-star Toledo Roadhouse, was attended by members of other exiled royal families, loyal Albanians and friends, who toasted "Long live the King".[8] When it was discovered that Leka not only retained some Thai bodyguards, but had what was described as an arms cache in their home, the Spanish government asked him to leave.[2] The couple went on to Rhodesia but, after Robert Mugabe took power, they settled in a large compound near Johannesburg where they were given diplomatic status by the South African Government.In 1993 Leka was permitted to enter Albania for the first time (since being exiled aged a few days old in 1939), doing so under a passport issued by his own Royal Court-in-exile.[10] Many of Leka's royalist supporters felt that a restoration of the monarchy would help bring political and financial stability to the government, as well as help protect Albanian democracy, following decades of communist rule.Albanian police had previously deployed armored vehicles and forces with heavy machine-guns, in case of any trouble ahead of the election.Tirana's mayor Lulzim Basha stated at the funeral that "We have come here today ... to honor, with full historic gratitude and national pride, the work of Leka Zogu."[25] Author Charles Fenyvesi gave a description of his appearance and manner in his 1979 book, Splendor in Exile: "Leka is a tower of a man with a bulging middle, the deliberate swagger of John Wayne, and the innocent eyes of an English schoolboy.He wears clean, freshly ironed green army fatigues, well-shined black combat boots, and a pistol strapped to his belt.The patch of a crowned double-headed eagle marks the outfit an Albanian uniform; his cap badge identifies him as the commander in chief."[26]In the 1960s, Leka struck up a friendship with California Governor Ronald Reagan (later President of the United States), gifting him a baby elephant named "Gertie".
Exiled members of the former Royal Albanian Guard in Rhodesia in the 1970s
Leka, Prince of AlbaniaHead of the House of ZoguKing Zog IRoyal Palace of TiranaTiranaKingdom of AlbaniaMother Teresa HospitalMausoleum of the Albanian Royal FamilySusan Cullen-WardZog I of AlbaniaCountess Géraldine Apponyi de NagyapponyQueen Geraldine of AlbaniaCrown PrinceAlbanian throneKing Zog I of AlbaniaRichard NixonBenito MussoliniItalian invasion of AlbaniaAlbaniaVictor Emmanuel III of ItalyKing of ItalyArmistice of CassibileEuropeRoyal FamilyEnglandRitz HotelLondonSouth AscotBerkshireParmoorFriethBuckinghamshireEnd of World War II in EuropeKing Farouk IVictoria College, AlexandriaAiglon CollegeVillars-sur-OllonSwitzerlandUniversity of GenevaSorbonneRoyal Military Academy SandhurstBritish Armyheir apparentKing of the Albaniansfunction roomHotel BristolAustraliancivil ceremonyHôtel de VilleBiarritzMadridKing Juan Carlos IAlbaniansSpanish governmentAlbanian governmentbazookaRhodesiaRobert MugabeJohannesburgdiplomatic statusSouth African GovernmentBryanston, South AfricaPrince LekapassportRoyal Court-in-exile1997 rebellion in Albaniadecades of communist rulereferendummonarchyvote had been manipulatedSali BerishaDemocratic Party of AlbaniaseditionParty of Right and Legality (PLL)coalitionLulzim BashaMuslimAlbanianArabicEnglishJohn WayneRonald ReaganPresident of the United StatesNancy ReaganHouse of ZoguRoyal Order of Fidelity, Special ClassRoyal Order of Skanderbeg, Grand StarItalian Royal FamilyRoyal Order of Saints Maurice and LazarusRussian Imperial FamilyImperial Order of Saint VladimirGeorgian Royal FamilyRoyal Order of the Eagle of GeorgiaThe EconomistBBC News OnlineTitles in pretenceKing Zog