King of Albania formally retained until he abdicated as Albanian monarch in 1943. Zog I was then reinstated as King (though he never returned to Albania), serving until the socialist People's Republic of Albania was established in 1946. During and after World War II, some Albanians worked for the return of King Zog; however, they were not successful. Neither Zog nor Vittorio Emanuele III had their Albanian royal titles widely acknowledged by the international community. The constitution of the Albanian Kingdom specified that, were the king to flee during war, he would abdicate any claims to the throne, including those of his descendants.
Zog I of Albania took power, and formally deposed him in 1946. Sponsored by the British and Americans, some forces loyal to Zog attempted to mount invasions and incursions, but most were ambushed due to intelligence sent to the Soviet Union by spy Kim Philby. A referendum in 1997—seven years after the end of Communist rule—proposed to restore the monarchy in the person of Zog's son Leka Zogu who, since 1961, had been styled "Leka I, King of the Albanians". The official but disputed results stated that about two-thirds of voters favoured a continued republican government. Leka, believing the result to be fraudulent, attempted