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Description
Origins of the House of Wied-Neuwied
The County of Wied-Neuwied was one of the hundreds of small statelets which made up the Holy Roman Empire. It operated as a county from 1698-1784, where it was elevated to the status of Principality, from its capital of Neuwied northeast of the Rhine River. With the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 at the hands of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the Principality of Wied-Neuwied was mediatised (Partitioned Territorialy) between the Duchy of Nassau and the Kingdom of Prussia bringing an end to the sovereignty of the Princes of Wied-Neuwied.

Marriage Politics of the House of Wied-Neuwied
The Princes of Wied-Neuwied would begin their return to prominence with the marriage of Hermann Prince of Wied to Princess Marie of Nassau-Weilburg third child and second daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg Duke of Nassau a descendant of George II of Great Britain and his first wife Princess Luise of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Prince Hermann and Princess Marie had three children; Princess Elisabeth of Wied, and Princes Wilhelm and Otto of Wied. Through their mother, their uncle was Adolf first Grand Duke of Luxembourg prior to its incorporation into the German Empire. They were also half-related to Helene Princess of Waldeck & Pyrmont and Queen Sophia of Sweden & Norway through their grandfather Wilhelm's second marriage to Princess Pauline of Württemberg.

Princess Elisabeth of Wied was married to her friend Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen who upon their marriage had become King Carol I of Romania. However, King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth would only have one child; a daughter Princess Marie of Romania who died in childhood. Carol died without heir leaving the throne of Romania to his nephew Ferdinand I and removing the blood of the House of Wied-Neuwied from the Romanian royal family.

Wilhelm Prince of Wied would marry Princess Marie of the Netherlands. They had six children; Wilhelm Friedrich Prince of Wied, Prince Alexander, Prince Wilhelm, Prince Viktor, and Princesses Luise and Elisabeth of Wied. Through their mother, they were related to the Dutch Royal Family with their great-grandfathers being Willem I of the Netherlands and Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia.

Rise of the House of Wied-Neuwied to the Throne of Albania
The conclusion of the First Balkan War brought about the Treaty of London and the partition of the Ottoman Empire's European territories between the Balkan League of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro. The Great Powers which mediated the treaty opted for the creation of an independent state of Albania rather than cede it Serb or Greek control. The Principality of Albania was proclaimed. Queen Elisabeth of Romania, upon learning that the Great Powers sought an aristocrat to claim the new Albanian throne had her Prime Minister Take Ionescu attempt to persuade them to choose her nephew, third son of Wilhelm and Marie Prince Wilhelm of Wied, to become Prince of Albania.

Through her involvement, the Great Powers of Austria-Hungary, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy selected Wilhelm to be Prince of Albania. The decision was announced in November of 1913 and Wilhelm had been offered the position in Spring. Though initially refusing, he eventually accepted under Austrian pressure accepting the position on 7 February 1914. On 21 February 1914, a delegation of Albanian notables led by Essad Pasha Toptani made a formal request which he accepted arriving to Albania on 7 March.

Prince Wilhelm took the name Vidi I. He was styled "Sovereign Prince" but in Albania was known as Mbret "King". He was also granted the style Skanderbeg II in honour of Albanian national hero Skanderbeg.

Tumultuous First Years of the Albanian Principality
Albania, under Ottoman sovereignty for centuries, found itself almost immediately in chaos. Albanian Muslims revolted against non-Turkish foreign domination while the ethnically Greek Northern Epirus region in the South of the country saw Greek separatism supported by the Kingdom of Greece. Although the government agreed to give minority rights to Greeks in Northern Epirus, the Greek army instead opted to occupy the territory. Even his Chief Minister, Essad Pasha, was discovered to have been taking Italian money in exchange for launching a coup against the Prince. Though the attempt was foiled, Pasha escaped to Italy.

By July of 1914, the nation had collapsed into civil war. The situation worsened when the outbreak of hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia resulted in the collapse of the entire continent into all-out war. The government in Vienna demanded that Prince Vidi send troops to assist the Austrians against the Serbs. When he refused citing his country's neutrality under the stipulations of the Treaty of London, the pay he was receiving was cut off.

With the situation out of hand, Prince Vidi and his family fled the country on 3 September. Despite his flight, he retained his claim to the throne informing the Albanian people that, "he deemed it necessary to absent himself temporarily." By 1915, Serbia had fallen to the advancing Austrians and Bulgarians and the retreating Serbia army ignored Albanian sovereignty entirely as they retreated through her territory followed by the Austrians who occupied the North of the country for the rest of the war eventually pushing back Italian and French forces into Greece.

Prince Vidi returned to Germany and rejoined the Imperial German Army under the pseudonym "Count of Kruja". The name derived from the city of Krujë in Albania. He had hoped the Austrians would restore him to the throne upon their occupation of the country but no such event would occur until after the end of the war.

Succession of the Albanian Throne to Present
Wilhelm would be restored to the Albanian throne by the Austro-Hungarian government in December of 1920 where he ruled an Albania which had become a vassal state to Vienna. Vidi's 2nd reign would last until his death on 18 April 1945. Vidi had two children with his wife Princess Sophie of Schönburg--Waldenburg; Princess Marie Elanore of Albania and Crown Prince Karl Viktor who succeeded Vidi as Prince Skënder (Again after Skanderbeg). Prince Skënder would rule for almost 30 years but died without heir. As such, the title of Prince of Albania was granted to the descendants of his uncle. His cousin Hermann Prince of Wied had died in 1971 two years prior at the age of 72 and so Prince Prince Skënder's nephew, Friedrich Wilhelm Prince of Wied, took the throne of Albania.

With the accession of Friedrich as Mbret of Albania, the titles of Prince of Albania and Prince of Wied were united under a single sovereign. Henceforth, all Princes and Princesses of Albania would carry the secondary title "Prince of Wied". Friedrich married Prince Guda of Waldeck & Pyrmont a descendant of Friedrich's great great half-grandaunt Princess Helene of Nassau and her husband George Victor Prince of Waldeck & Pyrmont. Though they were divided, they had two sons; Prince Alexander of Wied and Prince Carl of Wied. By the time he took the Albanian throne, he had remarried Princess Sophie of Stolberg-Stolberg with whom he had two children; Princess Christina and Prince Wolff-Heinrich of Wied.

Prince Friedrich died on 28 August 2000 and was to be succeeded as Prince of Albania and of Wied by his eldest son Crown Prince Alexander of Wied. However, Prince Alexander renounced the titles on 4 October 2000 leaving the throne to be assumed by his younger brother Prince Carl of Wied.

Prince Carl of Wied has reigned as Prince of Albania for the 20 years since. Carl married Princess Isabelle of Isenburg with whom he had 4 children; Crown Prince Maximilian of Albania current heir to the Albanian throne, Prince Friedrich of Albania, and Princesses Marie and Luise. Through his wife, Isabelle, Prince Carl is also co-brother-in-law with Kaiser Georg I of Germany who married Isabelle's sister Princess Sophie of Isenburg.

Notes:
- Prince Carol Victor has no known photograph I could find and so the portrait used is of a different member of the family of Wied.
- In reality, there are only 8 Princes of Wied as Prince Hermann, son of Prince Wilhelm Friedrich, died during the WWII invasion of Poland survived by his father. As such the title passed in 1945 from Wilhelm Friedrich to his grandson Friedrich. Due to the lack of WWII, an extra 30 years of life were given to Hermann with his death being at the age of 72 in 1971 two years prior to the death of Carol Victor Hereditary Prince of Albania.
- Prince Carl died of a heart attack in 2015 in his 50s. Since there are no photos of his heir, Maximilian, beyond his childhood, I opted to allow Prince Carl to continue living.

Description
Origins of the House of Wied-Neuwied
The County of Wied-Neuwied was one of the hundreds of small statelets which made up the Holy Roman Empire. It operated as a county from 1698-1784, where it was elevated to the status of Principality, from its capital of Neuwied northeast of the Rhine River. With the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 at the hands of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the Principality of Wied-Neuwied was mediatised (Partitioned Territorialy) between the Duchy of Nassau and the Kingdom of Prussia bringing an end to the sovereignty of the Princes of Wied-Neuwied.

Marriage Politics of the House of Wied-Neuwied
The Princes of Wied-Neuwied would begin their return to prominence with the marriage of Hermann Prince of Wied to Princess Marie of Nassau-Weilburg third child and second daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg Duke of Nassau a descendant of George II of Great Britain and his first wife Princess Luise of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Prince Hermann and Princess Marie had three children; Princess Elisabeth of Wied, and Princes Wilhelm and Otto of Wied. Through their mother, their uncle was Adolf first Grand Duke of Luxembourg prior to its incorporation into the German Empire. They were also half-related to Helene Princess of Waldeck & Pyrmont and Queen Sophia of Sweden & Norway through their grandfather Wilhelm's second marriage to Princess Pauline of Württemberg.

Princess Elisabeth of Wied was married to her friend Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen who upon their marriage had become King Carol I of Romania. However, King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth would only have one child; a daughter Princess Marie of Romania who died in childhood. Carol died without heir leaving the throne of Romania to his nephew Ferdinand I and removing the blood of the House of Wied-Neuwied from the Romanian royal family.

Wilhelm Prince of Wied would marry Princess Marie of the Netherlands. They had six children; Wilhelm Friedrich Prince of Wied, Prince Alexander, Prince Wilhelm, Prince Viktor, and Princesses Luise and Elisabeth of Wied. Through their mother, they were related to the Dutch Royal Family with their great-grandfathers being Willem I of the Netherlands and Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia.

Rise of the House of Wied-Neuwied to the Throne of Albania
The conclusion of the First Balkan War brought about the Treaty of London and the partition of the Ottoman Empire's European territories between the Balkan League of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro. The Great Powers which mediated the treaty opted for the creation of an independent state of Albania rather than cede it Serb or Greek control. The Principality of Albania was proclaimed. Queen Elisabeth of Romania, upon learning that the Great Powers sought an aristocrat to claim the new Albanian throne had her Prime Minister Take Ionescu attempt to persuade them to choose her nephew, third son of Wilhelm and Marie Prince Wilhelm of Wied, to become Prince of Albania.

Through her involvement, the Great Powers of Austria-Hungary, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy selected Wilhelm to be Prince of Albania. The decision was announced in November of 1913 and Wilhelm had been offered the position in Spring. Though initially refusing, he eventually accepted under Austrian pressure accepting the position on 7 February 1914. On 21 February 1914, a delegation of Albanian notables led by Essad Pasha Toptani made a formal request which he accepted arriving to Albania on 7 March.

Prince Wilhelm took the name Vidi I. He was styled "Sovereign Prince" but in Albania was known as Mbret "King". He was also granted the style Skanderbeg II in honour of Albanian national hero Skanderbeg.

Tumultuous First Years of the Albanian Principality
Albania, under Ottoman sovereignty for centuries, found itself almost immediately in chaos. Albanian Muslims revolted against non-Turkish foreign domination while the ethnically Greek Northern Epirus region in the South of the country saw Greek separatism supported by the Kingdom of Greece. Although the government agreed to give minority rights to Greeks in Northern Epirus, the Greek army instead opted to occupy the territory. Even his Chief Minister, Essad Pasha, was discovered to have been taking Italian money in exchange for launching a coup against the Prince. Though the attempt was foiled, Pasha escaped to Italy.

By July of 1914, the nation had collapsed into civil war. The situation worsened when the outbreak of hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia resulted in the collapse of the entire continent into all-out war. The government in Vienna demanded that Prince Vidi send troops to assist the Austrians against the Serbs. When he refused citing his country's neutrality under the stipulations of the Treaty of London, the pay he was receiving was cut off.

With the situation out of hand, Prince Vidi and his family fled the country on 3 September. Despite his flight, he retained his claim to the throne informing the Albanian people that, "he deemed it necessary to absent himself temporarily." By 1915, Serbia had fallen to the advancing Austrians and Bulgarians and the retreating Serbia army ignored Albanian sovereignty entirely as they retreated through her territory followed by the Austrians who occupied the North of the country for the rest of the war eventually pushing back Italian and French forces into Greece.

Prince Vidi returned to Germany and rejoined the Imperial German Army under the pseudonym "Count of Kruja". The name derived from the city of Krujë in Albania. He had hoped the Austrians would restore him to the throne upon their occupation of the country but no such event would occur until after the end of the war.

Succession of the Albanian Throne to Present
Wilhelm would be restored to the Albanian throne by the Austro-Hungarian government in December of 1920 where he ruled an Albania which had become a vassal state to Vienna. Vidi's 2nd reign would last until his death on 18 April 1945. Vidi had two children with his wife Princess Sophie of Schönburg--Waldenburg; Princess Marie Elanore of Albania and Crown Prince Karl Viktor who succeeded Vidi as Prince Skënder (Again after Skanderbeg). Prince Skënder would rule for almost 30 years but died without heir. As such, the title of Prince of Albania was granted to the descendants of his uncle. His cousin Hermann Prince of Wied had died in 1971 two years prior at the age of 72 and so Prince Prince Skënder's nephew, Friedrich Wilhelm Prince of Wied, took the throne of Albania.

With the accession of Friedrich as Mbret of Albania, the titles of Prince of Albania and Prince of Wied were united under a single sovereign. Henceforth, all Princes and Princesses of Albania would carry the secondary title "Prince of Wied". Friedrich married Prince Guda of Waldeck & Pyrmont a descendant of Friedrich's great great half-grandaunt Princess Helene of Nassau and her husband George Victor Prince of Waldeck & Pyrmont. Though they were divided, they had two sons; Prince Alexander of Wied and Prince Carl of Wied. By the time he took the Albanian throne, he had remarried Princess Sophie of Stolberg-Stolberg with whom he had two children; Princess Christina and Prince Wolff-Heinrich of Wied.

Prince Friedrich died on 28 August 2000 and was to be succeeded as Prince of Albania and of Wied by his eldest son Crown Prince Alexander of Wied. However, Prince Alexander renounced the titles on 4 October 2000 leaving the throne to be assumed by his younger brother Prince Carl of Wied.

Prince Carl of Wied has reigned as Prince of Albania for the 20 years since. Carl married Princess Isabelle of Isenburg with whom he had 4 children; Crown Prince Maximilian of Albania current heir to the Albanian throne, Prince Friedrich of Albania, and Princesses Marie and Luise. Through his wife, Isabelle, Prince Carl is also co-brother-in-law with Kaiser Georg I of Germany who married Isabelle's sister Princess Sophie of Isenburg.

Notes:
- Prince Carol Victor has no known photograph I could find and so the portrait used is of a different member of the family of Wied.
- In reality, there are only 8 Princes of Wied as Prince Hermann, son of Prince Wilhelm Friedrich, died during the WWII invasion of Poland survived by his father. As such the title passed in 1945 from Wilhelm Friedrich to his grandson Friedrich. Due to the lack of WWII, an extra 30 years of life were given to Hermann with his death being at the age of 72 in 1971 two years prior to the death of Carol Victor Hereditary Prince of Albania.
- Prince Carl died of a heart attack in 2015 in his 50s. Since there are no photos of his heir, Maximilian, beyond his childhood, I opted to allow Prince Carl to continue living.