The style 'King of the Albanians'

SEP 01 1928

Zog took the style Mbret i Shqiptarëve, King of the Albanians, rather than King of Albania. The formulation asserted a claim over ethnic Albanians beyond the state's frontiers, particularly in Kosovo and Macedonia. The statute required the king to swear an oath before parliament before exercising royal powers. The distinction is deliberate and irritated Albania's neighbours, but Zog in practice did nothing to pursue irredentist claims and was accused by nationalists such as Hasan Prishtina of abandoning Kosovo. The title and the policy pointed in opposite directions.