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Thursday, October 22, 2020

The New Albanian princess named for her great-grandmother

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HRH Princess Geraldine of Albania has been named for her paternal great-grandmother, Countess Géraldine Margit Virginia Olga Mária Apponyi de Nagy Appony, the daughter of  Count Gyula Apponyi de Nagy-Appony (1873–1924) and the American-born Gladys Virginia Steuart (1891–1947).  She was born on August 6, 1915, in Budapest.

  Geraldine married King Zog of Albania (1895-1961).   The Albanian king saw a picture of the Hungarian Countess and arranged to meet her.  They married at Tirana on April 27, 1938.

The couple's only son, Leka was born on April 5, 1939, in Tirana.  He was only 2 days old when the royal family was forced into exile after the country was invaded by Italy.   

Queen Geraldine, who was known as the White Rose of Albania, died in Tirana on October 22. 2002.  The cause of death was a heart attack.  She was 87 years old.







Gwen Robyns' biography of Queen Geraldine is excellent.








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