The surprise of the Europeans and the mockery of Ataturk and Bugatti with the Albanian kingdom

By: Jason Tomes (part of the book King Zog, Self-Made Monarch of Albania)
Translation: Telegrafi.com

… Some expected criticism emerged abroad. From Munich, Wilhelm Wiedi protested that he was still Prince of Albania. From Vienna, Bishop Fan Noli denounced [Ahmet Zogun as king] as a "disgusting crime against Albanians". The Zogist monarchy was "a farce prepared in Rome and staged in Tirana". Noli, who had recently translated Macbeth and Julius Caesar, spoke about Konare-n - the group of emigrants that was determined to free Albania from imperialism, feudalism and Ahmet Zogu. Equally outraged were the exiled Baylors in the rival movement National Union.

The reaction of Yugoslavia was more special. For several weeks, the Yugoslav ambassador in Tirana was unavailable for comment, and the Yugoslav foreign minister stated that he was too busy to meet with the Albanian delegate in Belgrade. They objected to the fact that Zogu had chosen the title "King of the Albanians", as opposed to "King of Albania", which was mostly interpreted as a statement of authority over ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. This opposition was anticipated and especially the French diplomats had lobbied for a formula that would not be contested. The bird avoided and explained its impotence "as a matter in the hands" of the Constituent Assembly. Italy's two friends, Verlaci and Alizoti, took credit for changing his attitude. The nationalists, Zogu said, had raised expectations which the assessee would not be able to disappoint. "The throne was offered to me by the Albanians, so that I would not be called anything other than the King of the Albanians", he claimed, and there was one aspect of this debate in his favor. Was not, in official terms, the monarch of Yugoslavia "King of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes"? He was also Tsar of the Bulgars and King of the Hellenes – both titles chosen with the revisions of borders in mind.

Belgrade recognized the kingdom on September 18. Another crack in Yugoslav-Albanian relations would be just a card in Mussolini's hands. Italian recognition was so swift as to emphasize their sponsorship of the regime. The first official visitor to the royal palace was Ugo Sola, who delivered the restrained message that barely disguised the Treaty of Tirana:

My government, with great pleasure, saw the change in the status of Albania, which brought Your Majesty to the throne that had been left empty for five centuries by Italy's loyal ally, Gjergj Kastrioti - Skënderbeu. I am sure that Your Majesty will find inspiration in the traditions of this great ancestor, in the preservation and further strengthening of an alliance whose value, strength and duration are linked by historical traditions and geographical considerations.

Zogu replied that the alliance will "last longer; in fact it will last forever". He offered his friendship and gratitude to the duchess.

The King of the Albanians was upset that Britain and France waited three weeks before recognizing his elevation (which protected Yugoslavia from appearing as an isolated case). Sir Robert Hodgson, the new British ambassador, reported that the poor people would not face relief, just because their dictator could call himself King (from the Latin imperator), although "Albanians understand a king better than a president".

In formal terms, Zogu had placed himself above the chiefs of the tribes and above the beylers, and had strengthened his reputation abroad. In the vernacular, his title was actually the same as that used by Prince Wilhelm in 1914, but THE KING the young man defined his translation as "King", not without reason, considering that the only sovereign princes in Europe reigned in Monaco and Liechtenstein. The King of Albania took the first place in [the book of European kings - St. translated] Almanack de Gotha (in alphabetical order, by state). His use of the numeral, Bird I, conformed to continental practice, although it seemed premature and pompous to English speakers.

Some heads of state, with very little courtesy, reacted to the creation of the kingdom. When he learned this news, Mustafa Kemal, the president of Turkey, pounded the table with his fist:

What! Do I accept it? No, no. I will never know him! Maybe I'll be the only one in the world. That doesn't matter. I swear to you, I give you my word that I will not recognize. An example must be given. The man elected by the people must never betray his oath. Never!

The future Atatürk, who may not have been entirely sober, ordered his words to be published. Later, an Albanian diplomat greeted him with the question: Asaf Bey, I see many funny pictures in newspapers. What is happening in Albania? Are you staging an operetta?

Kemal had a lot in common with Zog. Partly of Albanian origin, he was educated in Manastir and Istanbul. His hero was Napoleon. He visited Vienna in 1917. He led the resistance to the partition of his country and made himself a dictator committed to modernization. However, the Turk was contemptuous of the small achievements of the Albanian and especially of his alliance with Italy.

A desire to dispel talk that he would make himself King of Turkey may also explain his momentum. "The bird is going backwards," he shouted. "Why should he become King at this time"? Diplomatic relations between Tirana and Ankara were frozen for more than three years. King Zog acted with indifference: after centuries of Ottoman rule, Albania had reason to distance itself from Turkey. Indeed, he felt deeply insulted.

The mockery of the operetta was endlessly repeated. Journalists wrote that Zogu instructed his sisters not to be photographed too often in the Albanian costume, so that foreigners would not be reminded of the second act of Merry widow [opera by the composer Franz Lehá – sh. transl.]. The image of "Pontevedro" of Franz Lehar, he thought, had contributed to the downfall of independent Montenegro. Perhaps he should have gone further and prohibited the younger princesses from appearing in their white cotton military uniforms, which also suggested the chorus of parody from Song of the Desert [opera by the composer Sigmund Romberg – sh. transl.]. The outside world had never taken Albania very seriously, but King Zog would be the last person to understand that the sudden rise of a brilliantly masked man with a strange name does not help at all (In Britain, Zog was the brand name of a popular cleaning product).

The ruler of Albania wanted to be equal with the Balkan neighbors. Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria had kings (Greece was briefly a republic), but the new king faced the same ridicule as the young Zengins. Ettore Bugatti was said to have refused to sell the king a Royale limousine, fearing it would devalue the brand. The Romanian, Bulgarian, and Greek dynasties were the cosmopolitan cousins ​​of European kings. Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg looked askance at Zog-Mat. There was a closer parallel with the Karagjorgjevic kings of Yugoslavia. "Black George", the original, became the leader of the Serbs after his violent attempts at the beginning of the nineteenth century, while the nephew had regained the throne after the assassination of his rival in 1903. However, since the War, Alexander I of Yugoslavia had sealed the respect towards him with the marriage with the dynasty [European – sh. I translate]. Politics aside, the Karagjorgjevic family was still not eager to be associated with someone replacing him as the black sheep of European royalty.

Sensitive as he was to even the most trifling slights, King Bird could console himself with the reflection that these were merely penalties of extraordinary success. The big job that the heirs to the thrones considered strange beginners? It was reasonable that every royal dynasty had to start with someone... /Telegrafi/