Oponice, March 6, 2026. At the invitation of Ambassador Ľubomír Rehák, holder of several Servare et Manere decorations, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Leka II of the Albanians visited Slovakia. The Prince’s grandmother was our compatriot Queen Géraldine of Albania, born Countess Géraldine Aponiová of Veľké Oponice. Representatives of Servare et Manere had the opportunity to accompany His Royal Highness on his first visit to our country. Although Albania is now a republic, it respects its history, the Zogu royal family contributes to the country’s presentation abroad and carries out charitable work in Albania through the Queen Géraldine’s Foundation. Prince Leka II arrived with his fiancée Blerta Celibashi and they used their stay at the Apponyi family nest in Oponice to have professional photography taken before upcoming wedding. They were accommodated in the Château Appony that serves as a historic hotel in the “Géraldine” suite with many family photographs. In the presence of the Director General of the Slovak National Library, Dr. Eva Augustínová, Prince Leka II. toured the famous Bibliotheca Apponiana and the new temporary exhibition Apponyi family in the Service of the Crown. The Oponice librarian, Dr. Ondrej Šomodi also retrieved from the deposit documents relating to Prince’s grandmother, as well as her personal books that she read in the library during her stay in Oponice. They agreed on a mutual exchange of digitized materials that will enrich the library’s collections and the Albanian royal family. The Oponice branch of the Apponyi family was famous for its multiculturalism and education. Géraldine’s father, Count Július (Gyula) Apponyi, remained in Oponice after the collapse of the monarchy and his family accepted Czechoslovak citizenship. The beautiful Countess Géraldine, known as the “White rose” because she preferred reading books in the family library instead of sunbathing, had English and German as her native languages, but she also spoke other languages, including Slovak and Hungarian. After her marriage to King Zog I of the Albanians she learnt also Albanian.

The Slovak non-governmental organization Servare et Manere awarded the Prince and his fiancée with the Tree of Peace Memorial Medal for respect for historical heritage, building bridges and spreading the ideas of peace and understanding between nations. They were decorated with medals by the Secretary General of Servare et Manere dr. Marek Sobola. The Prince then planted a Tree of Peace in the historical Oponice park, which will commemorate his visit and the interesting historical bond between Slovakia and Albania. It was touching when the prince also put some Albanian soil on the roots of planted tree and took some soil from Oponice back to Albania. The prince suggested that the Tree of Peace be planted around the Royal Mausoleum in Tirana as well. The priest, Reverend Jozef Šafár accompanied the Prince on a tour of the Oponice church and the adjacent Apponyi Crypt, where the Prince laid a wreath and lit candles by the coffins of his ancestors. On the feast of All Saints, a mass is served in the crypt every year for the deceased members of the Apponyi family, to whom Oponice belonged from 1392 to 1940.

The Prince and his fiancée also used their stay in Slovakia to lay a wreath and light a candle at the memorial plaque at the nearby Nitra Castle, commemorating the visit of the great Albanian – Saint Mother Teresa to Nitra in 1990. The Prince also toured the beautiful Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Emmeram and honoured the memory of Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec at his grave and in his memorial room. Very warm welcome was given by the Bishop of Nitra, His Excellency Mons. Viliam Judák in the presence of spokesman of the Nitra Diocese, dr. Tibor Ujlacký. The Bishop, a well-known church historian, also recalled the connection of Nitra with the Albanian Berat through the personality of Saint Gorazd, where the relics of this saint from the times of the Great Moravian Principality of Nitra are kept.

The private royal visit in Slovakia was met with unprecedented media coverage. The news was reported by JOJ Television, the news portal of the Press Agency of the Slovak Republic, the Press Office of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia, the Diocese of Nitra, the news portal Nitrak.sk, and the dailies Plus JEDEN DEŇ and MY Nitra.