Good King Zog
Mar. 3rd, 2009 08:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chris_gerribYes, Virginia, there really was a King Zog of Albania, and he wasn't just a running gag on Monty Python.
I got introduced to King Zog after reading Harry Turtledove's wonderful fantasy novel Every Inch A King, which is today's review on POD People. In that novel, Turtledove retells the allegedly true story of Otto Witte, who supposedly was King of Albania for a few days. (To say there are holes in Otto's story is to be belittling of holes. But the man made a living telling the story until his death in 1958.)
At any rate, I stumbled upon good ole' King Zog after reading about Turtledove. Zog seems to have been a real character. He started out as President, but when the Albanians didn't know what a President was, he made himself a king. Other incidents:
- In Vienna in 1931, Zog survived an assassination attempt by shooting back at his assassins with a pistol pulled from his pocket. Wikipedia tells me "This is the only occasion in modern history when a Head of State has personally exchanged fire with potential assassins."
- During his reign in Albania, Zog's Chamberlain would invite wealthy foreigners to a formal audience with the king. They would usually have to buy dress clothes for the occasion, and would be referred to a store owned by Zog.
- Apparently Otto Witte wasn't the only King of Albania to personally supervise the Royal treasury - when Zog was exiled to London he carried several gold-filled suitcases into London's Ritz Hotel.
Sometimes truth is stranger then fiction.
I got introduced to King Zog after reading Harry Turtledove's wonderful fantasy novel Every Inch A King, which is today's review on POD People. In that novel, Turtledove retells the allegedly true story of Otto Witte, who supposedly was King of Albania for a few days. (To say there are holes in Otto's story is to be belittling of holes. But the man made a living telling the story until his death in 1958.)
At any rate, I stumbled upon good ole' King Zog after reading about Turtledove. Zog seems to have been a real character. He started out as President, but when the Albanians didn't know what a President was, he made himself a king. Other incidents:
- In Vienna in 1931, Zog survived an assassination attempt by shooting back at his assassins with a pistol pulled from his pocket. Wikipedia tells me "This is the only occasion in modern history when a Head of State has personally exchanged fire with potential assassins."
- During his reign in Albania, Zog's Chamberlain would invite wealthy foreigners to a formal audience with the king. They would usually have to buy dress clothes for the occasion, and would be referred to a store owned by Zog.
- Apparently Otto Witte wasn't the only King of Albania to personally supervise the Royal treasury - when Zog was exiled to London he carried several gold-filled suitcases into London's Ritz Hotel.
Sometimes truth is stranger then fiction.
King Zog
Date: 2009-03-03 09:12 pm (UTC)