A new constituent assembly amended the constitution making Albania a kingdom and transforming Zogu into Zog I, "King of the Albanians".

Although nominally a constitutional monarch, in practice King Zog retained the dictatorial powers he had held as President Zogu.

Zog had accumulated a great number of enemies over the years, and the Albanian tradition of blood vengeance required them to try to kill him.

The Royal Albanian Army, though always 15,600 strong, sapped the country's funds, and the Italians' monopoly on training the armed forces rankled public opinion.

Instead, he ordered the national budget slashed by 30 percent, dismissed the Italian military advisers, and nationalised Italian-run Catholic schools in the northern part of the country.

Among the primary schools, the following are appointed as teachers: Secondary education was organized "in the most suitable way to strengthen the will and discipline in the work of the Albanian youth and to awaken the sense of duty towards oneself and towards the Motherland and equip it with a general and national culture.

The branches that a city school could have, the division of which begins in the third year, were: trade, woodworking, ironworking, animal husbandry, agriculture and home economics.

The following lessons were taught in high schools and lyceums: In 1928, the Basic Statute was adopted, along with a Civil Code and agrarian reform was instituted, removing ferexhesë.

[clarification needed] The Islamic law was replaced by the Swiss Civil Code, following the model of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey.

King Zog supported the introduction of modern architecture, and sought to improve welfare, the balance of trade, and the education of Albanian youth.

A pipeline between the Kuçovë oil field and Vlorë's port expedited shipments of crude petroleum to Italy's refineries.

A strong decline in prices, mainly in the agricultural and livestock industry, affected the monetary and credit policies of the National Commercial Bank.

In 1938, the total area of agricultural land estimated at 1,163 hectares (2,874 acres), about 39.5% of the occupied state and private property, while smallholders owned 60%.

The Albanian kingdom period was characterized by the growing number of utility works; in 1939 there were thirty-six enterprises in the construction industry.

During this eleven-year period serious efforts were made to create a national road network using an investment of sixty million gold francs borrowed from the Italian Kingdom.

This period also introduced the construction of a sewage network, and, for the first time, money was invested to build segments of roads in the northern part of Albania.

The most important roads were: Shkodër-Puka, Mat-Bishop Bridge, Krujë-Mat, Tirana-Elbasan, Lushnjë-Mbrostar, Korçë-Burrel, Burrel-Dibër, Tiranë-Shijak-Durrës, Tiranë-Ndroq-Durrës, and Tiranë-Krrabë-Elbasan.

Distinguished writers included: Fan Stilian Noli, Alexander Drenova, Esad Mekuli, Ndre Mjeda, Haki Stermilli, Lasgush Poradeci, Faik Konica, Sterjo Spasse, Ndoc Nikaj, Foqion Postoli, Migjeni and others.

A Franciscan priest and poet, Gjergj Fishta, dominated the literary scene with his poems about the Albanians' perseverance during their quest for freedom.

Daily newspapers started publishing, including: Demokracia, Liria Kombëtare, Besa, Hylli i Dritës, and Leka along with a large number of pedagogical and scientific publications.

These were the first steps toward modernization of the country, but Albania remained Europe's most underdeveloped nation in many respects.The lack of economic development prompted several strikes.

In 1923, the Albanian Muslim congress convened at Tirana and decided to break with the Caliphate establishing a new form of prayer (standing, instead of the traditional salah ritual), banishing polygamy, and doing away with the mandatory use of veil (hijab) by women in public, which had been forced on the urban population by the Ottomans during the occupation.

Increasingly the mosque and the church were expected to function as servants of the state, the patriotic clergy of all faiths preaching the gospel of Albanism.

Hymns idealizing the nation, Skanderbeg, war heroes, the king and the flag predominated in public-school music classes to the exclusion of virtually every other theme.

After Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia (March 15, 1939) without notifying Mussolini in advance, the Italian dictator decided to proceed with his own annexation of Albania.

Unwilling to become an Italian puppet, King Zog, his wife, Queen Geraldine Apponyi, and their infant son Leka fled to Greece and eventually to London.

Victor Emmanuel III took the Albanian crown, and the Italians set up a fascist government under Shefqet Verlaci and soon absorbed Albania's military and diplomatic service into Italy's.

After the German army defeated Poland, Denmark, and France, a still-jealous Mussolini decided to use Albania as a springboard to invade Greece.

Mussolini counted on a quick victory, but Greek resistance fighters halted the Italian army in its tracks and soon advanced into Albania.

The communist partisans during and after the war, backed by Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, suppressed the Albanian nationalist movements and installed a Stalinist regime that would last for about 46 years.