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Crown Prince Leka II and Crown Princess Elia of Albania have announced that they are heading for divorce.
The former couple, who tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in 2016, announced their shock split in a statement posted on social media on Monday.
“Hello friends and lovers,” read a message on Crown Prince Leka’s official Instagram account, translated into English.
“Through this post, I officially inform you that LTM Prince Leka and Elia Zharaia have agreed to end their marriage. Since the marriage has lost its function, they have decided to dissolve it by mutual consent by initiating the necessary legal procedures.
The statement added that the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, Princess Geraldine, remains “at the center of their dedicated attention to ensuring a happy and safe life.”
“Regardless of the commitment to the family institution, LTM Leka believes that the values of mutual respect and understanding will form the foundation of the relationship in its continuity, the motivation of which will be the growth and education of LSM Princess Geraldine!!!” The post is over.
Leka, head of the Albanian royal family, married actress and singer Elia, in the capital, Tirana, in October 2016.
According to Hello! Magazine Ilya, 40, issued her own statement on the breakup, which has since been taken down from the platform.
She wrote on Instagram: “Friends and well-wishers, I want to inform you that today we have started the legal procedures to settle the marriage, as we have jointly decided to file for divorce.”
“This is not a reality that makes me happy at all, I believe in family values as the most precious thing! I would never have chosen for my daughter to grow up with separated parents, but sometimes separation is the only option.
“What matters most is that my baby lives this moment as easily as possible. Thank you so much to everyone who wrote to me and gave me courage.
“Despite these difficult months I have been through, your kindness has given me strength. I wish you health and happiness among your families.”
Four years after tying the knot in 2016, the couple became parents when they welcomed their daughter, whom they named after the prince’s late grandmother, Queen Geraldine.
Leka is proud to be the “custodian of the monarchy’s heritage” and maintains a balanced position in Albanian politics as a “symbol of Albanian unity,” according to the royal family’s official website.
Crown Prince Leka II became heir to the Albanian crown after the death of his father, King Leka I, in 2011.