King of Lithuania
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King of Lithuania, the title of rulers of Lithuanian state recognised by the Pope. The first of them was King Mindaugas who founded the Christian Kingdom of Lithuania; his successors, however, were known as Grand Dukes, as Lithuania reverted to paganism until the end of 14th century. Despite this, the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania referred to themselves as kings in Latin as "rex" (king), and Gediminas of Lithuania used this title in his letters while trying to ease pressure of the Teutonic Knights and negotiating the direct Christianisation of Lithuania from Rome rather than by neighbouring countries.
In 1429, the title of King of Lithuania was granted to Grand Duke Vytautas, but his attempts to be crowned did not succeed. At this time, Lithuania had already adopted Christianity.
The third and the last king of Lithuania was proclaimed in 1918, when Lithuania was occupied by Germany and attempting to achieve independence. Lithuanians decided to elect German nobleman Wilhelm of Urach as king Mindaugas II and hoped this would encourage Germany to allow Lithuania have real independence. However, after the Great War Lithuania's independence was as a republic.
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