Prince shocks by welcoming new bride into royal fold seven months after bitter divorce involving alleged domestic violence

Crown Prince Leka II introduced his new girlfriend on Instagram seven months after separating from his wife of eight years.

The 42-year-old introduced his new partner, Tirana-based wedding photographer Blerta Celibashi, at a gala dinner aimed at strengthening ties between Albanian and American businessmen on Monday.

This comes after Leka and Princess Elia Zaharia, who married in 2016 and share four-year-old Princess Geraldine, announced their split in January, citing the union had “lost its function”.

Their split led to a bitter series of events: the couple were ordered to stay five metres apart following an alleged domestic violence incident and Leka was told she can only see her daughter in the presence of a nanny.

But this week, the Albanian royal put past events aside and welcomed his new companion Blerta into the royal fold, sharing a portrait of them holding hands at the event on Instagram.

Leka and Blerta showed a romantic side in the photo, holding hands while smiling at the camera.

Blerta maintains a private Instagram account but has a business profile that showcases her photography work and has more than 30,000 followers.

Leka welcomed the royals on Monday and invited them to an official dinner. She described the purpose of the event on Instagram: “Thank you to Anton Konstantin and David Alexander Jenkins for hosting and organising a wonderful gala dinner at Carpathia West Estate.

‘An evening dedicated to strengthening ties between Albanian and American businessmen, promoting cooperation and support for charitable causes.’

It marks the end of a chapter for Leka and Elia, and despite being claimants to a now-defunct throne following the dissolution of the Albanian monarchy in 1943, the prince and his glamorous ex-wife had won the hearts of the public from the moment they married eight years ago.

More than 20 royal families from around the world, including Prince Michael of Kent, King Charles’ second cousin, attended the lavish ceremony.

In a translated statement released at the time of their split, a spokesperson maintained that Princess Geraldine remained the focus of the parents’ attention, while pleading with “well-wishers” to respect the family’s privacy.

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 the marriage had lost its function, they found a way to resolve it by mutual agreement by initiating the necessary legal procedures.

‘Despite the 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 continuation, which will have as its motive the growth and education of Princess Geraldine.’

‘The child’s spiritual and physical well-being will remain the focus of her care, dedicated to ensuring a happy and safe life for Geraldine.’

The statement also said the prince would not be offering any further comment at this time and asked that his “right to privacy in regard to this matter” be respected.

However, months later, in March, news came that Crown Prince Leka II requested police intervention following an alleged incident of domestic violence involving his ex-wife and her ex-father-in-law.

A video of Leka allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Princess Elia and her father, Gjergj Polikron Zaharia, has surfaced online.

The palace issued a statement after a clip of the fight appeared online, claiming Leka was “physically attacked with strong objects by his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law” and had handed the video over to police as evidence.

Elia broke his silence on the ‘terrible’ conflict and claimed that his involvement in the fight was simply his attempt to stop it, according to Albania Daily News.

The glamorous mother-of-one claimed she returned home to find Prince Leka 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,” she wrote.

“The conflict has nothing to do with me, except that I have tried to prevent it. I am pursuing legal action 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 said: ‘Prince Leka on the evening of 5 March was physically assaulted 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 handed over to the police station solely by Prince Leka ll Zogu, as material evidence of the violence inflicted on him. But despite being considered secret, these materials, together with the statement, were widely circulated on social networks and in the media, spreading unpleasant images with violent content.

‘The Royal Court expresses its deep disappointment with law enforcement institutions that we suspect have violated the right to anonymity by distributing third-party videos.

‘The Royal Court also requests the intervention of the police and the relevant institutions to delete these images from social networks and the media.’

Shortly afterward, a court ruled that Crown Prince Leka II and his ex-wife must maintain a distance of five meters from each other following an alleged incident of domestic violence.

The Tirana Civil Court has signed two protection orders for Leka and Princess Elia Zaharia following an alleged physical altercation between the former couple and Elia’s father, Gjergj Polikron Zaharia, 73.

The court ruling followed a video that surfaced online of Leka allegedly engaged in a physical fight with Elia and her 73-year-old father.

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 meaningful tribute to the little girl’s paternal great-grandmother, Queen Geraldine, who died on October 22, 2002, 18 years before her namesake was born.

Queen Geraldine married King Zog I, who was Albania’s first monarch after gaining 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 pretender 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 adviser to the President of Albania, succeeded his father as head of the House of Zogu and titular king of the Albanians.

As Leka II is currently childless, his current heir presumptive is Skënder Zogu, his first cousin.

Leka II and Elia, who got 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 Interior and the Office of the President of Albania, while the princess works at the Albanian National Theatre.

The Albanian royal family was expelled from the country in 1939 after it was invaded by Italian fascists.

After World War II, when the communists took control of the country, King Zog and his family were considered traitors and completely stripped of power and erased from the history books.

Following their exile, the Albanian royal family spent time in Greece and Türkiye before settling in England, where they briefly resided at the Ritz in London.

King Zog and his family moved to Egypt before the monarch spent the rest of his life in France.