Crown Prince Leka II of Albania is engaged to longtime girlfriend, Blerta Celibashi, the royal palace has announced.
Leka II is the Crown Prince of the non-ruling Albanian monarchy, as the only child of Sydney-born Crown Princess Susan (nee Susan Cullen-Ward), who met Albanian King Leka I at a dinner party in 1975.
Leka, 43, first went public with his relationship in September 2024 after finalising his divorce from actress Elia Zharaia, with whom he shares daughter Princess Geraldine.
“The engagement was joyfully celebrated on 11 October 2025, in Ksamil, Southern Albania, in the presence of family and close friends,” the royal household said in a statement.
“The Royal Family shares their happiness with the Albanian people and extends heartfelt gratitude to all who have conveyed their kind wishes on this joyful occasion.”
Blerta, a photographer, looked elegant in a champagne-coloured floor-length gown in the official engagement portrait while the prince wore a dark suit.
The happy news comes a month after Blerta joined the prince for her first official engagement on a visit to the Queen Géraldine Foundation.
The charity champions educational initiatives and philanthropic work across Albania – which is currently one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in Europe.
The Crown Prince is not technically linked to the current government of Albania, which has been a republic since 1946.
However, Leka has worked with the Albanian government in foreign diplomacy and is something of a roaming ambassador for the country abroad.
The Albanian government has also returned some of the family’s seized palaces following the country’s transition to democracy in the 1990s.
The update comes after the Crown Prince exclusively sat down with SkyNews.com.au and revealed his plans to visit Australia.
“My cousins are all pushing for me to come and visit hopefully next year,” he said.
“I know that my mother always wanted me to visit Australia.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
