Prince Leka of Albania and Elia Zaharia, 8 October 2016


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Dasma përrallore e Princ Leka II, detajet e darkës dhe të ftuarit mbretërorë

Momentet më të bukura të dasmës mbretërore sipas Princ Lekës (Foto) - Lajme rozë - GazetaExpress

The couples joint monogram

zXTSl9E.jpg
 
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Princess Michael's mother was a bridesmaid at the wedding of King Zog and Queen Geraldine. (per Stig on the British Royals Message Board)
 
HereditaryPrincess said:
I can imagine that Prince and Princess Michael were there because of Prince Michael's interest in Russia, as I noticed that there were a couple of Russian guests at Leka and Elia's wedding too. Therefore they were most likely there for personal reasons rather than official reasons, because, like you said, this is a non-reigning wedding.
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Leka's ancestor Zog claimed the Albanian throne based his blood relationship to Skanderbeg. According to wikipedia, other royal families connected to Skanderbeg are Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria-Hungary, Prussia, Serbia, and some members of the British royal family which seem to be Princess Michael and her descendants. In one of the posted clips on this thread Prince Michael brings up Princess Michael being related to the Albanian royals via Skanderbeg. So yes the countries listed above were all represented, unlike other royal families, possibly due to being distant relatives of the Albanian royals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanderbeg
 
Katrianna said:
Princess Michael's mother was a bridesmaid at the wedding of King Zog and Queen Geraldine. (per Stig on the British Royals Message Board)
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Well, Geraldine and Marianne Szapary were 5th cousins, which means that Prince Leka and Princess Michael of Kent are 6th cousins once removed.
 
Ceallach said:
In one of the posted clips on this thread Prince Michael brings up Princess Michael being related to the Albanian royals via Skanderbeg.
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The closest link is that both of them are descendants of Count Christian Anton von Waldstein-Wartenberg (1743-1791) and Countess Anna Maria von Ulfeldt (1747-1791), descendant of the Kings of Denmark.

Prince Michael is also related to Prince Leka, both being descendants of Prince Ferdinand August Leopold von Lobkowicz (1655-1715).
 
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Katrianna said:
Princess Michael's mother was a bridesmaid at the wedding of King Zog and Queen Geraldine. (per Stig on the British Royals Message Board)
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There is an interesting link between Queen Geraldine's family and Princess Michael's family which might explain this.

Princess Michael's first stepmother Margherita was firstly married to Count Hans-Christoph von Seherr-Thoss.

This Count Hans-Christoph von Seher-Thoss was first cousin of Queen Geraldine's father.

So, maybe those complicated family ties might explain closer relations between them.
 
On the Group Picture who is the Lady behind Grand Duchess Maria ?
It is Empress lady in waiting !!
 
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Marc23 said:
There is an interesting link between Queen Geraldine's family and Princess Michael's family which might explain this.

Princess Michael's first stepmother Margherita was firstly married to Count Hans-Christoph von Seherr-Thoss.

This Count Hans-Christoph von Seher-Thoss was first cousin of Queen Geraldine's father.

So, maybe those complicated family ties might explain closer relations between them.
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Plus both Geraldine and Michael are partly of Hungarian descent. Geraldine was Hungarian on her father's side and Michael on her mother's.
 
Ancestors known but not the most important the Close Family is unknown and no picture of them at the Wedding.
Madame Sylviane Muselier Honor Citizen of the City of Marseille and half Sister of Queen Geraldine
Monsieur Renaud Muselier, her Son who has an important Politic Career in France and had contacts with Albanian Politics during his stay for the wedding.
The new Princess 's Mother who is an important Actress and is next to the Princess of Thurn and Taxis on the group picture.
 
Noble Consort Ming said:
Plus both Geraldine and Michael are partly of Hungarian descent. Geraldine was Hungarian on her father's side and Michael on her mother's.
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As I said, Queen Geraldine and Princess's mother Countess Marianne Szapary were 5th cousins.
 
maria-olivia said:
Ancestors known but not the most important the Close Family is unknown and no picture of them at the Wedding.
Madame Sylviane Muselier Honor Citizen of the City of Marseille and half Sister of Queen Geraldine
Monsieur Renaud Muselier, her Son who has an important Politic Career in France and had contacts with Albanian Politics during his stay for the wedding.
The new Princess 's Mother who is an important Actress and is next to the Princess of Thurn and Taxis on the group picture.
Click to expand...

As part of the foreign press, I was one of the (many) photographers at the wedding.

I took several pictures of Mme Sylviane Muselier, who is 88 and looked fantastically well, along with her son.

Mme Muselier was briefly interviewed on Albanian TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTavrQI_erw
 
Geat Thanks to you Benjamin.
Their attendance was as important than the Royals and no pictures of them.

Great to tell us you were there. What was the impression of people of the Street ?
Were there Flags and Pictures of them , TV Screens in the City of Tiriana ?
Or was it a Royal Ghetto? What was your impression about the Wedding and your Favorite Moment ?
 
'When I saw Elia in her dress, she too my breath away.'

Rrëfimi pas dasme, Princi Leka: Mbeta pa frymë kur pashë Elian...Princesha tregon bisedat me mbretëreshat - Lajme nga Shqipëria - GazetaExpress

Albanian press also pointed out how much attention the wedding got in foreign media
"Po, dua!", në mënyrë mbretërore, dasma e Elias dhe Princ Lekës edhe në mediat ndërkombëtare (Foto/Video) - Lajme rozë - GazetaExpress

(some screeshots are from blogs we know)

Some journalist 'crashed' the wedding and asked the royal guests questions

Të ftuarit mbretërorë në dasmën e Princit: S?e njohim, na çoi ftesë dhe erdhëm (Video) - Lajme nga Shqipëria - GazetaExpress

With Gloria TuT
'You are great friends with the couple?' 'Oh, no, when I get an invitation, I go' (or this what I could understand). :lol:


https://www.instagram.com/p/BLb7XWUANN9/?taken-by=realcasadiborbone

I love Camilla
 
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maria-olivia said:
Geat Thanks to you Benjamin.
Their attendance was as important than the Royals and no pictures of them.

Great to tell us you were there. What was the impression of people of the Street ?
Were there Flags and Pictures of them , TV Screens in the City of Tiriana ?
Or was it a Royal Ghetto? What was your impression about the Wedding and your Favorite Moment ?
Click to expand...

While I was in Albania, I did not really ask around to gauge what people thought about the wedding, so I cannot speak to that aspect.

That being said, there was a lot of Albanian press at the wedding at the Palace in the morning, then at the reception at the Royal Residence in the centre of Tirana, then back at the Palace for the gala dinner in the evening.

The Royal Palace, commonly known as the Palace of Brigades, is located in the Grand Park of Tirana. It is the property of the government and it has served as a residence for the country's president. Therefore, in addition to there being the obvious security for high profile attendees like Queen Sofía, the palace was not and is not accessible to the public based on its location and function.

I must say that there are Albanian flags flying everywhere in Tirana; the people are very proud to be Albanian. The country is still a republic, and Prince Leka and Princess Elia seem very discreet, so it probably would have been out of place if there were jumbo screens broadcasting the ceremony or if there were large photos of the couple hanging throughout the city. However, the wedding did get a fair amount of press, both TV and print, in the country both leading up to the day itself and then afterwards. The Mayor of Tirana presided at the ceremony; there were many political and diplomatic personalities there; the current prime minister hosted a luncheon for the Prince and Princess as well as their guests on Sunday, the day after the wedding.

One had the sense that the guests were excited and happy to be there. When we were in Istanbul waiting for the flight to Tirana, I happened to meet the Duke of Braganza (the Duchess had walked away to look at something) and he said that this his first time going to Albania. This was probably the case with most of the guests--and, since I was personally impressed with the rich culture of the country as well as the amiable spirit of its people, I imagine many of the guests were, too. Then, of course, there is the clearly strong affection that some of the attendees in particular have for Prince Leka. Queen Sofía and Grand Duchess Maria were both present when his parents got married in 1975, so they will have known Leka for his entire life. Members of the Zogu and Cullen-Ward families were also there, though they will have been largely undetected by the press, as was Mme Muselier--who really did look amazing...she must have the same constitution as her sister.

It was a memorable day. A sense of celebration was definitely in the air. Tirana had been receiving steady rain showers in the days before the wedding, but, on the day itself, it was perfectly sunny. One of the most striking memories I have from the day occurred when Prince Leka and Princess Elia arrived at the Royal Residence for the reception following their wedding. As they made the way up to their home, they had to walk by all of the members of the media, who were on both sides of the tree lined entrance way. Of course, I took plenty of photographs, but in the few moments where they began ascending the stairs to the residence, where I was standing, I put down my camera and offered my congratulations and Prince Leka gently said thank you as they kept climbing up. In that moment, I was struck by how thoughtful and kind this couple must be. Princess Elia is beautiful in a natural way, she resembles her mother very much. Prince Leka is so very tall, like his father. They form a regal couple and are at the same time still down-to-earth and approachable. My mother, who was also there, had the same impressions. Seeing them together on the day of their marriage... one could not but feel happy for them.
 
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Fürstin Taxis said:
With Gloria TuT
'You are great friends with the couple?' 'Oh, no, when I get an invitation, I go' (or this what I could understand). :lol:
Click to expand...

As far as how the guests handled the reporters, Fürstin Gloria was definitely one of the most amusing when giving her impressions.

When Gloria was walking down the steps of the Palace after the wedding ceremony, she was approached by the one TV reporter who happened to be there at the time. My mother and I were both standing in two different sections for the media; she taking little films with the iPad and I taking pictures. Neither of us could make out what the reporter asked, but Gloria responded loud enough for everyone to hear: "We love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love Tirana! We love the Prince and Princess! It is wonderful!"

Her daughter Princess Elisabeth was standing next to her mother and seemed to be laughing (as was everyone who heard the comment and knows about Gloria's personality).

Video: https://www.facebook.com/sethbenjaminovich/videos/vb.782625720/10157564112165721/?type=2&theater
 
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Benjamin said:
As far as how the guests handled the reporters, Fürstin Gloria was definitely one of the most amusing when giving her impressions.

When Gloria was walking down the steps of the Palace after the wedding ceremony, she was approached by the one TV reporter who happened to be there at the time. My mother and I were both standing in two different sections for the media; she taking little films with the iPad and I taking pictures. Neither of us could make out what the reporter asked, but Gloria responded loud enough for everyone to hear: "We love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love Tirana! We love the Prince and Princess! It is wonderful!"

Her daughter Princess Elisabeth was standing next to her mother and seemed to be laughing (as was everyone who heard the comment and knows about Gloria's personality).

Video: https://www.facebook.com/sethbenjaminovich/videos/vb.782625720/10157564112165721/?type=2&theater
Click to expand...

Like her or not, Gloria is a hoot.

Amazing experience, thanks for sharing :flowers:
 
Thanks Benjamin.
A Royal Wedding and a Week later Royal Funerals
 
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