Royal Couple of Albania Announce Their Divorce After Eight Years of Marriage

Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia of Albania have announced their decision to divorce after eight years of marriage. The royal couple, who tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in 2016, announced the separation in a statement posted on social media.

In a message on his Instagram account, Crown Prince Leka shared the couple’s mutual agreement to end their marriage, citing a perceived loss of function in the institution of marriage. They expressed their intention to initiate legal procedures to formalise the separation.

A post shared by HRH Crown Prince Leka (@princleka)

The couple stressed that the well-being of their 3-year-old daughter, Princess Geraldine, will continue to be their top priority. Princess Geraldine, born in October 2020, was named after her great-grandmother, the late Queen Geraldine.

Despite the decision to part ways, the statement highlighted Crown Prince Leka’s belief in upholding values of mutual respect and understanding. It emphasised their commitment to fostering a relationship centered on the growth and education of Princess Geraldine. Prince Leka II, 41, holds the position of the grandson of former King Zog I, who faced exile to Italy with his family in April 1939 during Mussolini’s invasion of Albania.

Following the death of his father, King Leka I, in 2011, he assumed the role of the heir to the Albanian Crown. Prince Leka has served as an advisor within the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, and the Albanian President’s Office. Princess Elia, 40, born Elia Zharaia, is an actress and singer.

Their relationship began in 2008 and married six years later. Their wedding was attended by the Spanish queen and several former royals. It was the first wedding in Tirana of a member of the deposed royal family since 1938. Leka’s grandfather Zog I, fled when Italian Fascist troops invaded Albania in 1939, a year after his wedding with Hungary’s princess Geraldine Apponyi. The royal family was forbidden to return until the fall of communism in 1990.

(With agency inputs)