Prince Wied (Wilhelm Wied, 1876–1945) with his court came down to Durrës. The matter of the head of the throne of the new Albanian state, after many talks on the 17 candidacies, was resolved with the appointment of the German prince Wilhelm Wied (Wilhelm von Wied). Wied agreed to leave for Albania only after he requested and received an advance of 10 million francs for the loan of 75 million guaranteed by the Six Powers. Before departing, Wied visited the capitals of the Six Great Powers that had appointed him prince. He started his visits to Rome and Vienna in the middle of February, and within the month, he visited London, Paris, Berlin, and Petersburg. After that, he hurried to Neu Wied to meet the Albanian delegation. The delegation of 14 people, designated by the International Control Commission headed by Esat Toptani, went to Neu Wied, in Germany, where on February 21, 1914, they officially handed over the crown of the prince of Albania to Wilhelm Wied. All the Great Powers recognized Wilhelm Wied as the prince of Albania, followed by other countries, including the Balkan countries. Patriotic circles generally saw the symbol of independent Albania in the German prince and the person who would give a western orientation to the new state. They hoped that the prince would unite Albania, save it from the danger of further fragmentation, from the separatist and anarchist activity of the local feudal and feudal aristocracy, and would create the conditions for its rapid economic and social development. They also remembered that the foreign and Protestant prince, according to them, not confused with the factions, provincialisms, and religious divisions in Albania, would be able to impartially exercise high authority for the benefit of the Albanian nation. Wilhelm Wied did not manage to stay long at the head of the Albanian royal throne, due to the uprising of the Albanians against him, as well as the beginning of the First World War (1914). (In the photograph: The arrival of Prince Wied in Durrës, March 1914.)
Text: The history of the Albanian people – Vol. III , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Toena”, Tirana, 2007, page 58.
Photo: © https://theAlbanianprofile.com/
Graphic processing: AHCF
