Geraldine of Albania: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

[[Countess]] '''Géraldine Margit Virginia Olga Mária Apponyi de Nagy-Appony''' ({{lang-en|Geraldine}}; 6 August 1915 – 22 October 2002) was [[Queen of the Albanians]] from her marriage to [[King Zog I]] on 27 April 1938 until the King was deposed on 7 April of the following year.

Geraldine was born in [[Austria-Hungary]] into the noble [[Apponyi]] family. Her family fled to Switzerland in 1918, when the monarchy of Austria-Hungary was abolished. They returned to [[Kingdom of Hungary (Regency)|Hungary]] in 1921. However, after her father Gyula died in 1924, her American-born mother Gladys took Geraldine and her two siblings to live in southern [[France]]. Later Geraldine was educated at a boarding school in [[Austria]]. She met the Albanian king Zog I in 1938, and they married shortly afterwards.

The [[Italian invasion of Albania]] cut short Zog's reign. During [[World War II]], King Zog and Queen Geraldine lived first in [[French Fourth Republic|France]] and later in [[England]]. Later on, they would live in France again and in [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]]. After her husband died in [[Paris]] in 1961, Geraldine took the title Queen Mother and asserted the rights of her son [[Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania]], to rule. She and Leka fled successively to [[Francoist Spain|Spain]], [[Rhodesia]], and [[South Africa]]. Geraldine was allowed to return to Albania in 2002, and she died that year aged 87.

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After her husband's death, Geraldine preferred to be known as the "Queen Mother of Albania".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.nyu.edu/eecr/vol11num3/vol11num3.pdf |publisher=law.nyu.edu |access-date=9 October 2016 |title=''Queen Mother of Albania'' |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205212003/http://www.law.nyu.edu/eecr/vol11num3/vol11num3.pdf |archive-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> In June 2002, Geraldine returned from [[South Africa]] to live in Albania, after the law was changed to allow her to do so. She continued to assert that her son Leka was the legitimate [[King of the Albanians]].

Queen Geraldine of the Albanians died five months later at the age of 87 in a military hospital in Tirana. After being admitted for treatment for [[lung disease]], she suffered at least three [[myocardial infarction|heart attacks]], the last of which was fatal, on 22 October 2002.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2352963.stm ''BBC News Online'' – Former Albanian queen dies]</ref> She was buried by the Central House of the Army with full honours, including a funeral oration at [[St Paul's Cathedral (Tirana)|St Paul's Cathedral]], on 26 October 2002, and interred in the Sharra cemetery, Albania, in the "VIP plot". She was later reburied in the [[Mausoleum of the Albanian Royal Family|Royal Mausoleum in Tirana]].{{CNCitation needed|date=November 2021}}

On 5 April 2004 her grandson, [[Leka II, Crown Prince of Albania|Leka, Crown Prince of Albania]], accepted the [[Civil awards and decorations of Albania|Mother Teresa Medal]] awarded to her posthumously by the Albanian government in recognition of her charitable efforts for the people of Albania. [[Leka II, Crown Prince of Albania|Leka's]] daughter Geraldine (born 22 October 2020 at Queen Geraldine Maternity Hospital in Tirana, on the 18th death anniversary of queen Geraldine) was named in her honour.{{CNCitation needed|date=November 2021}}

==Honours==

* [[File:ALB Order of Fidelity (1939) - Grand Cross BAR.png|50px]] Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Fidelity (Albania)|Order of Fidelity]] (26 April 1938).{{cncitation needed|date=June 2020}}

* [[File:Decoration without ribbon - en.svg|50px]] [[Orders, decorations and medals of Albania|Mother Teresa Medal]] [posthumous] (5 April 2004).{{CNCitation needed|date=November 2021}}

==References==

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==Further reading==

*Dedet, Joséphine "Géraldine, reine des Albanais". Paris: Belfond, 2016, published at the occasion of Prince Leka's wedding in Tirana, on 8 October 2016 (Leka being Geraldine's grandson) ; former editions: Criterion, 1997 {{ISBN|2-7413-0148-4}} and Belfond, 2012, {{ISBN|978-2-7144-5090-6}}. Biography enriched by the Queen's testimony, by her personal archives and by a huge correspondence with the author, who has benefited of many unpublished sources.

*Dedet, Joséphine, ''Géraldine,'' ''Egy Magyar No Albania Tronjan'', Budapest : Europa, 2015, {{ISBN|978-963-405-202-9}}, reprinted in 2016 and December 2017, best-seller in Hungary, translation of ''Géraldine, reine des Albanais".

*Pearson, O. S. ''Albania and King Zog'', I.B. Tauris. 2005 ({{ISBN|1-84511-013-7}}).