Crown Prince Leka | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crown Prince of Albania | |||||
Head of the House of Zogu | |||||
Period | 30 November 2011 - present | ||||
Predecessor | Crown Prince Leka I | ||||
Born |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
26 March 1982 ||||
Spouse | Elia Zaharia | ||||
|
|||||
House | Zogu | ||||
Father | Crown Prince Leka I of Albania | ||||
Mother | Susan Cullen-Ward |
Full name | |
---|---|
Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe Zogu |
Prince Leka of Albania (Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe Zogu, born 26 March 1982) is the only child of the first Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, and Susan Cullen-Ward. Prince Leka was an official at the Albanian Ministry of Interior and in the past has served at the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Presidency. The prince is referred by some Albanian monarchists as King Leka II since the death of his father, whom they referred to as Leka I. On 30 November 2011, he succeeded as head of the House of Zogu, titular King of the Albanians upon the death of his father.
In May 2010, the Prince became engaged to Elia Zaharia, an Albanian actress and singer. They married on 8 October 2016 in Tirana.
Leka is the son of the pretender to Albania's throne, Crown Prince Leka I, and his Australian wife Susan Cullen-Ward known as Queen Susan.
At the time of his birth in 1982, the South African government declared his maternity ward temporarily Albanian territory to ensure that Leka was born on Albanian soil, although the Albanian government would not have recognised it as such. He was named in honour of Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat, his grandfather King Zog I, Emperor Mohammed Reza of Iran, and Baudouin I, King of the Belgians. Msiziwe is a Zulu honorific. Leka is a member of the Zogu dynasty founded by King Zog and also is a hereditary bey (Albanian tribal chieftain and traditional land owner) of the Gheg clan.