Crown Prince Leka II and Crown Princess Elia of Albania announce divorce
Crown Prince Leka II and Crown Princess Elia of Albania have announced their divorce after eight years of marriage.
Crown Prince Leka shared the news in a statement on Instagram which has been translated into English.
It reads, "Hello friends and lovers. Through this post, I officially inform you that LTM Prince Leka and Elia Zharaia have agreed to end their marriage.
"Since marriage has lost its function, they have decided to resolve it with mutual consent by starting the necessary legal procedures."
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Crown Prince Leka II and Crown Princess Elia of Albania have announced their divorce. Getty
The statement continues: "Regardless of the commitment to the institution of the family, LTM Leka believes that the values of mutual respect and understanding will form the basis of the relationship in its continuity, which will have as its motive the growth and education of LSM Princess Geraldine!!!"
It ended by saying Crown Prince Leka would not be providing further comment, and asked for "privacy during this time".
Their daughter Geraldine is three years old.
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The couple met in 2008 and were married in 2016. Getty
Crown Prince Leka is the head of the Albanian royal family. He married actress and singer Elia Zharaia in 2016.
The prince's mother was Australian-born Crown Princess Susan (nee Susan Cullen-Ward) who was born in Sydney and meet Zog's King Leka at a dinner party in 1975.
She died in 2004 before ever becoming queen.
Hello! magazine reported that Elia, 40, released her own statement about the divorce on her social media accounts but it has since been deleted.
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The Crown Prince has asked for privacy. Instagram
They are parents to Geraldine, 3. Instagram
It isn't known if how and when Crown Princess Elia's royal styling will change following this news.
Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia resided in Tirana and attended engagements in Albania and Kosova. They also ran the Queen Geraldine Foundation which focuses on supporting Albanian families and children.
The Albanian royal family dates back to the 20th century and is known as the House of Zogu. Prince Leka II is the only living male descendant of King Zog I and Geraldine is his only child.
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