Saturday Adventures: The Ruin of Zog's Castle

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The Ruin of Zog's Castle

Indy Anna Bones headed into Muttontown Preserve, near Syosset, NY.

There in the woods, less than an hour from New York City, was hidden the remains of a tiny kingdom.

King Zog of Albania was deposed by Italian fascists in WWII and lived the rest of his days in exile.

Knollwood Estate was intended to house a royal court of more than 100 Albanian family, staff, and servants.

Among his many exploits, Zog allegedly held a record for smoking more than 200 cigarettes a day.

He also survived more than 55 assassination attempts in his runs first as a regional mayor, then Prime Minister, Marshal of the Army, President, and first King of the Albanians.

Zog ascended the throne he established in 1928 and ruled for 11 years.

As President, Zog established the newly-formed Albania as a police state where journalists were murdered and civil liberties were abolished.

Zog was a Muslim, but swore his oath of kingship he held his hand over both a Quron and a Bible to unite the Albanian population.

European royalty shunned Zog, as he was a first-generation monarch with no family connections.

Under Zog, Albania became almost completely dependant on Mussolini’s Italy, and even the center of the Albanian National Bank was moved to Rome.

Following several unsuccessful attempts to ingratiate with France and Germany, Albania was brought further into the sphere of Italian influence.

Italians invaded Albania in 1939, facing little resistance as the Albanian army was led largely by Italian officers.

Benito Mussolini reportedly said of the king, “Zog is clever enough, but no hero, and he loves intrigue.”

Expecting the Italians to invade, Zog looted the banks and fled into exile with his wife and two-day-old son, Leka.

The royal family lived first in England, and then Egypt while Zog bartered for US citizenship for himself and his royal court.

Knollwood Estate was purchased in 1951 while Zog was providing the CIA with intelligence to overthrow the communists that had taken control of Albania after the WWII.

The property was supposedly purchased with a bucket of rubies and diamonds worth $102,800.

Zog was arrested after King Farouk of Egypt was overthrown in 1952, and his wealth was confiscated to cover back taxes Zog insisted he didn’t have to pay.

Knollwood was nearly sent to auction the following year before Zog paid $3,000 to cover back property taxes he also claimed to be exempt from.

Meanwhile Zog was stalling his own citizenship process in the US to keep open the possibility of returning to Albania as king.

A team of rebels trained by the CIA snuck into Albania based on Zog’s information, and were quickly compromised, used to deceive and embarrass the USA, and were ultimately executed publicly.

The US only agreed to bring 35 Albanians into the country with Zog, but the king refused to relocate unless he brought his entire court.

Knollwood Estate was sold in 1955 as Zog’s good will with the US was running out, but the mansion had been left vacant so long that it was demolished for safety concerns in 1959.

King Zog died in France in 1961.

His son Leka claimed to be king of the Albanians all his life, but did not return to live in the country until 1997.

Leka plotted to restore the monarchy, but these were put down through intrigue and manipulation the the Communists, and Leka passed away in 2011.

In the years since his passing, King Zog has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, with his remains repatriated from France in 2012, burial beside his son and wife in the royal mausoleum, and Albanians salute his memory every day by blatantly ignoring the official smoking ban across the nation.