[4] Just two days after his birth, King Zog I was forced into exile after Benito Mussolini's army invaded the country during the Italian invasion of Albania.

[citation needed] He studied economics at the University of Geneva and at the Sorbonne, and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

The wedding reception, at a five-star Toledo Roadhouse, was attended by members of other exiled royal families, loyal Albanians and friends, who toasted "Long live the King".

[1] The couple returned to Madrid, where they were befriended by the Spanish King Juan Carlos I and continued to enjoy the attentions of Albanians.

[8] When it was discovered that Leka not only retained some Thai bodyguards, but had what was described as an arms cache in their home, the Spanish government asked him to leave.

When his plane arrived at Gabon for refueling, he found that it was being surrounded by local troops, who were said to have been hired to capture him by the Albanian government.

[2] The couple went on to Rhodesia but, after Robert Mugabe took power, they settled in a large compound near Johannesburg where they were given diplomatic status by the South African Government.

In 1993 Leka was permitted to enter Albania for the first time (since being exiled aged a few days old in 1939), doing so under a passport issued by his own Royal Court-in-exile.

[10] Many of Leka's royalist supporters felt that a restoration of the monarchy would help bring political and financial stability to the government, as well as help protect Albanian democracy, following decades of communist rule.

Albanian police had previously deployed armored vehicles and forces with heavy machine-guns, in case of any trouble ahead of the election.

The authorities quickly seized them, though the weapons were returned to the royal family six years later, after being deemed items of cultural heritage.

Tirana's mayor Lulzim Basha stated at the funeral that "We have come here today ... to honor, with full historic gratitude and national pride, the work of Leka Zogu."

[25] Author Charles Fenyvesi gave a description of his appearance and manner in his 1979 book, Splendor in Exile: "Leka is a tower of a man with a bulging middle, the deliberate swagger of John Wayne, and the innocent eyes of an English schoolboy.

He wears clean, freshly ironed green army fatigues, well-shined black combat boots, and a pistol strapped to his belt.

He explains that the insignias on his jacket denote his specialties: guerilla warfare, commando operations, armaments expertise, marksmanship.

The patch of a crowned double-headed eagle marks the outfit an Albanian uniform; his cap badge identifies him as the commander in chief.

"[26]In the 1960s, Leka struck up a friendship with California Governor Ronald Reagan (later President of the United States), gifting him a baby elephant named "Gertie".