Crown Prince Leka II has requested police intervention following an alleged domestic violence incident involving his ex-wife and former father-in-law.
A video emerged online Tuesday of Leka, 41, allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Princess Elia, 41, and her father, Gjergj Polikron Zaharia, 73.
It comes two months after the couple, who share three-year-old daughter Princess Geraldine, announced the end of their marriage, saying the union had “lost its function”.
The Palace issued a statement after a clip of the fight appeared online, stating that Leka was “physically attacked with strong objects by his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law” and that he had given the video to police as evidence.
Elia broke his silence about the “terrible” conflict on Wednesday and claimed that his involvement in the fight was simply his attempt to stop it, according to Albanian daily news.
Crown Prince Leka and Princess Elia have sent shockwaves across Albania after a video of the couple allegedly engaging in a physical fight with Elia’s 73-year-old father surfaced online. Seen in 2022 with his daughter, Princess Geraldine.
The glamorous mother of one claimed that when she returned home she discovered that Prince Leka was fighting with his 73-year-old father.
“It is a very difficult situation for me and my family, as it is not easy to come home and find Leka trying to rape my 73-year-old father,” he wrote.
‘The conflict has nothing to do with me, except that I tried to stop it. I am following the judicial route for everything,’ he added.
The Albanian royal court also issued a statement on the conflict via social media and accused the police of leaking the images.
The statement read: ‘Prince Leka on the afternoon of March 5 was physically attacked with strong objects by his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law and videos of this moment have been made public on social media.
‘The videos were only delivered to the police station by Prince Leka ll Zogu, as material proof of the violence inflicted on him. But despite being considered secret, these materials, along with the statement, were widely circulated on social networks and in the media, transmitting unpleasant images and violent content.
‘The Royal Court deeply expresses its disappointment with law enforcement institutions which we suspect have breached the right to anonymity by distributing third-party videos.
‘The Royal Court also requests the intervention of the police and relevant institutions so that these images are removed from social networks and the media.’
Elia claimed she tried to stop a physical altercation between her ex-husband and her father. The couple is seen in happier times in 2021.
The Royal Court of Albania addressed the drama on social networks and called for police intervention
MailOnline has contacted Albania’s royal court for comment.
It comes after the former couple, who married in 2016, declared their separation through an official statement shared on instagram.
Despite being contenders for a throne now defunct following the dissolution of the Albanian monarchy in 1943, the prince and his glamorous wife had won the hearts of the public from the moment they married eight years ago.
The lavish ceremony was attended by more than 20 royal families from around the world, including Prince Michael of Kent, King Charles’ second cousin.
In a translated statement, a spokesperson maintained that Princess Geraldine remained the focus of her parents’ attention, while pleading with “well-wishers” to respect the family’s privacy.
Crown Prince Leka II and Princess Elia of Albania announced the end of their eight-year marriage in January. Pictured after their wedding ceremony in 2016.
The message read: ‘Hello friends and supporters, through this post I officially inform you that Prince Leka and Elia Zaharia have agreed to end their marriage.
‘As marriage has lost its function, they saw a way to resolve it by mutual agreement by initiating the necessary legal procedures.
‘Despite trust in the institution of the family, Prince Leka believes that the values of mutual respect and understanding will form the basis of the relationship in its continuity, which will be motivated by the growth and education of Princess Geraldine!! !
“(Their) spiritual and physical well-being of the child will remain the focus of their attention, dedicated to ensuring a happy and safe life for Geraldine.”
The statement also said the prince would have no further comment at this time and asked that “his right to privacy be respected in relation to this matter.”
Albania’s Crown Prince Leka II and Crown Princess Elia announced the birth of their first child, a girl named Geraldine, in October 2020. The couple photographed in 2016.
The couple, who married in 2016 in the European nation’s second royal wedding and first since the end of communism, welcomed their daughter in 2020 at the Queen Geraldine Maternity Hospital in Tirana.
They named their daughter Geraldine, a significant tribute to the little girl’s paternal great-grandmother, Queen Geraldine, who died on October 22, 2002, 18 years after her namesake’s birth.
Queen Geraldine was married to King Zog I, who was Albania’s first monarch after it gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, but fled his homeland in 1939 when Italian fascists occupied the Balkan state.
Although the monarchy had been dissolved, Zog’s son, King Leka I, remained head of the House of Zogu and claimant to the throne until his death in 2011 and was succeeded by his only son, Leka II.
The Crown Prince, who attended the Royal Military College Sandhurst and worked as an advisor to the president of Albania, replaced his father as head of the House of Zogu and titular King of the Albanians.
Princess Elia, Prince Leka and Crown Prince Nicholas of Montenegro photographed at the 80th birthday of King Simeon of Bulgaria in 2017
As Leka II currently has no children, his current heir presumptive is Skënder Zogu, his first cousin once removed.
Leka II and Elia, who were engaged in Paris in 2010, also chaired the Queen Geraldine Foundation.
The prince has also worked as an advisor at the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Office of the President of Albania, while the princess works at the National Theater of Albania.
Albania’s royal family was expelled from the country in 1939 after it was invaded by Italian fascists.
After World War II, when the communists took over the country, King Zog and his family were considered traitors and stripped of power completely and written out of the history books.
Following their exile, the Albanian royal family spent time in Greece and Turkey before settling in England, where they briefly resided at The Ritz in London.
King Zog and his family then moved to Egypt before the monarch spent the rest of his life in France.