Leka, Crown Prince of Albania

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Pretender: Crown Prince Leka
Image:Albania-Leka I.jpg
Born	April 5, 1939 (age 67)
Regnal name claimed	Leka I
Title(s) if any	Crown Prince
Throne claimed	Albania
Pretend from	April 9, 1961 - present
Monarchy abolished	1945
Last monarch	Zog
Connection with	son
Royal House	Zogu
Father	Zog of Albania
Mother	Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi
Spouse	Susan Cullen-Ward
Children	Leka

Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (Leka Zogu), (born April 5, 1939, the Royal Palace, Tirana) is the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine. He is the pretender to the Albanian throne. He, as well as monarchists and some members of the media [1], prefers to known as King Leka I.

Contents 1 Family and early life 2 Arms dealing 3 Return to Albania 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Family and early life

King Zog I was forced into exile only two days after the birth of Leka and soon officially replaced on the throne of Albania by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.

After the family left Albania in 1939 they settled in England, living first at the Ritz Hotel and from 1941 at Parmoor House [2] in Buckinghamshire. In 1946 they left to live in Alexandria in Egypt and later moved to Paris, where King Zog died in 1961.

Through his mother, Leka has some attested distant medieval roots in Albania, whereas his father's much closer Albanian ancestry cannot be historically attested as far as to Middle Ages.

Leka was educated at English schools in Egypt and at l'Aiglon College, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. Fluent in seven languages he also studied economics at Sorbonne and passed out of Sandhurst Military Academy in England. Following this he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the British Army [3]. He has since reinforced the family fortune with a successful business career and arms dealing (see below).^{[citation needed]}

Leka became titular heir apparent of the abolished throne on April 5, 1957. At the death of King Zog I in 1961, Leka was proclaimed King of the Albanians by the Albanian National Assembly-in-Exile, in a room at the Hotel Bristol, Paris^[1]. He also holds the position of Sovereign Grand Master of the Orders of Scanderbeg, Fidelity and Bravery [4].

In 1975, Leka married Australian citizen and former teacher Susan Cullen-Ward in Biarritz. They were married in a civil ceremony in the Hotel de Ville, Biarritz. The wedding reception, at a five star Toledo Roadhouse, was attended by was attended by members of other exiled royal families, loyal Albanians and Spanish friends, who toasted "Long live the King"^[2].

Leka spent many years exiled in Bryanston, South Africa, where his son, Prince Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe, was born. He currently resides in Tirana, Albania, where his wife, Susan, died on July 17, 2004.

[edit] Arms dealing

Leka's business enterprises have included arms dealing. Having previously been arrested in Thailand^[3], in 1999 he was arrested in South Africa, and his diplomatic privileges revoked, after police discovered a cache of more than 70 weapons with 14,000 rounds of ammunition in his home^[4]. In 2002 he was investigated by police after attempting to bring a large cache of arms (almost 90 pieces, including hand grenades and rocket launchers) into Albania when he returned to live there. Leka described it as a historic collection, although police claimed newer weapons were among the cache^[5]. Once, when his plane landed in Gabon to refuel, local troops, allegedly hired by Albania's government, attempted to seize him. Leka went to the door of the plane with a rocket launcher to warn them off.

On the occasion of his wedding, he said "I normally wear two pistols but not even I could carry guns at my wedding reception"[5].

[edit] Return to Albania

In 1993 he entred Albania for the first time, doing so under a passport issued by his Royal Court-in-exile. In this passport, which the Albanian government had refused to recognise previously, Leka listed his profession as "King"^[6]. Leka was greeted by a crowd of aproximately 500 supporters on his arrival at the airport. He stated at this time that he would renounce this passport and accept the status of a normal citizen if a referendum on the monarchy failed^{[citation needed]}.

In 1997 Leka returned again, this time being greeted by 2,000 supporters. A referendum was held in Albania concerning a monarchical Restoration. The restoration was rejected by approximately two thirds of those voting^[7]. The Crown Prince refused to recognize the result, and, questioned the independence of the election, although OSCE held it free and fair. Refusing to renounce his Royal passport Leka later attempted to organise an armed insurrection following the election results, before being forced back into exile. When asked if he intended to leave Albania he replied "Why? It is my country". After leaving Albania of his own accord he was tried and sentenced to three years imprisonment for sedition, in absentia, this conviction was pardoned in March 2002, when seventy two members of Parliament asked him to return.[6], [7]

Leka is backed by the Legality Party which formed a coalition with other parties in Albania. Leka, however does not vote stating that "I am above all political parties, even my own"[8].

Leka is head of the Movement for National Development ^[8], however in February 2006 he announced he would be withdrawing from political and public life.

Leka is friends with many monarchs and politicians throughout the world, including the late President Ronald Reagan. In 1967 Leka presented Reagan with a baby elephant named Gertie he had bought through Harrods. It was later donated to Sacramento Zoo[9]. The Crown Prince is also a distant cousin of Richard Nixon, through his mother; it is believed Nixon and "such good friends as the Shah of Persia...and the CIA are thought to have helped" with his life in Exile [10].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Leka in military uniform with his wife

House of Zogu Born: April 5 1939; Died:
Titles in pretence
Preceded by: King Zog	* NOT REIGNING * King of Albania (1961–Present)	Incumbent Designated heir: Prince Leka