Albert Ghica was a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

writer and socialite. He was a member of the

Ghica The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...

noble family. Later in life he changed his name to the Albanian form ''Gjika'', for more credentials in his quest for the Albanian throne.Paul Cernovodeanu et al., ''Elena Ghica - Dora d'Istria''. Online a
Ghyka.net
/ref> He was a pretender to the Albanian throne. A committee was founded in Paris by

Dervish Hima Dervish Hima (1872–1928), born Ibrahim Mehmet Naxhi, was a 19th-century Albanian politician and one of the delegates who participated at the Albanian Declaration of Independence. A publisher, he travelled from country to country, promoting Alba ...

and Dimitri Papazoglou, an Aromanian captain that sought to make Ghica the prince of Albania. Good relations were maintained between Ghica and

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. Th ...

, an Albanian leader involved in the Albanian national movement. Writing on the Albanian struggle against the Ottomans at the beginning of the 20th century, British journalist and foreign correspondent for the

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

in the Balkans

H. N. Brailsford Henry Noel Brailsford (25 December 1873 – 23 March 1958) was the most prolific British left-wing journalist of the first half of the 20th century. A founding member of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage in 1907, he resigned from his job a ...

spoke the following in his book ''Macedonia; Its Races and Their Future'' (1906): ''"The second claimant (for a possible future Albanian State) is a certain Prince Albert Ghica, who comes of a family of Albanian origin, long resident in Roumania. It has given

Hospodar Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master". Etymology and Slavic usage In the Slavonic language, ''hospodar'' is usually applied to the master/owner of a house or other properties and also the head of a family. ...

s (Governors) to the old Wallachian provinces and diplomats to the modern kingdom, and enjoys princely rank in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. Prince Albert is a comparatively young man with plausible manners and a dubious past, who speaks fluent French, and knows neither one word of the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

nor the elements of Albanian geography. He has been chosen honorary president by one of the numerous clubs of Albanian immigrants in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, and on the strength of this social honour he poses in European hotels as the chief-elect of the Albanian people. He talks of venturing in person into Albania and raising the flag of revolt. We shall see."'' He married Margaret Dowling in London in April 1905. He later seemed to have abandoned his bid for throne, as the personal letters Austrian Baron

Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (also Baron Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás, Baron Nopcsa, Ferenc Nopcsa, báró felsőszilvási Nopcsa Ferenc, Baron Franz Nopcsa, and Franz Baron Nopcsa; May 3, 1877 – April 25, 1933) was a Hungarian Aristoc ...

, himself a pretender to the Albanian throne, suggest. They state the following: ''"Albert Ghica, who had been a pretender to the Albanian throne himself, had managed to interest the

Duke of Montpensier The French lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordshi ...

in the Albanian throne. He ceded his 'rights,' which were recognized by no one as a matter of fact, to the duke and began to campaign on his behalf in exchange for an appropriate remuneration."''Robert Elsie, ''The Viennese scholar who almost became King of Albania: Baron Franz Nopcsa and his contribution to Albanian studies'', East European Quarterly, Vol. 33, 1999. Under his presidency, a Pan-Albanian Congress was organized in Bucharest in 1905 where

, the future founder of the modern Albanian state and its first head of state and government, deliberated with Bucharest's Albanian community. Albert Ghica also wrote on the topic of the Albanian issue, publishing the book ''L'Albanie et la question d'Orient: (Solution de la question d'Orient)''.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghica, Albert

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

Romanian people of Albanian descent 1868 births 1928 deaths

See also

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