List of Lithuanian monarchs

The full title held by king of Lithuania from 1253 to 1263 was:[7]

In Lithuanian: Iš Dievo malonės, Lietuvos karalius

In Latin: Dei Gratia Rex Lettowiae

In English: By the Grace of God, king of the Lithuania

The first mention of a Lithuanian king predates the establishment of the Christian kingdom itself: according to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, Mindaugas' father was a great king who "had no equal in his time."[8] As the territory of Lithuania expanded eastwards, other king-titled grand dukes who ruled the country adopted similar titles for introducing themselves abroad. For instance, Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytenis was sometimes regarded as Rex Lethowinorum (King of Lithuanians) while his successor Gediminas took the Latin title of Rex Lithuanorum et Multorum Ruthenorum (King of Lithuanians and many Ruthenians).[9][10][11][12] Teutonic Knights referred to Algirdas and his wife Uliana (Julijona) as "Grand King of Lithuania" and "Grand Queen of Lithuania".[13] Even though it is traditionally accepted that Mindaugas was the only true king, all historical records, with the exception of Slavic annals, mention Lithuanian rulers as kings until 1386.[14]

Officially, the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania was introduced after the Pact of Horodło in 1413.[13] Until then, previous monarchs were called by different titles, including kings. This was because in Lithuania, unlike in the majority of other European monarchies, the Grand Duke was a sovereign monarch who was accountable to no one, thus de facto king.[13] The full title of Grand Duke of Lithuania was:[15]

In Lithuanian: Lietuvos didysis kunigaikštis

In Latin: Magnus Dux Lithuaniae

In English: Grand Duke of the Lithuania

Following the Act of Krėva with Poland in 1385, the full Latin title was changed to Dei Gratia Rex Poloniae Magnus Dux Lithuaniae (By the Grace of God, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania).

As the conquests of Prussia by the Teutonic Order and of Livonia by the Livonian Brothers were coming to an end, both Catholic religious orders began posing an existential threat to then-pagan Lithuania. In response, Duke Mindaugas, who by then had managed to strengthen his grip in various Baltic and Slavic lands, sought to consolidate power and unite Lithuania into one political entity, convert to Christianity, and become king.[19] In 1250 or 1251, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic. In 1253, probably in Vilnius or Novogrudok,[3] he and his wife Morta were crowned King and Queen, thus establishing a short-lived alliance with the Livonian Order. This laid the basis for the international recongnition of the newly created Kingdom of Lithuania as a Western country.

Some historical documents suggest that at the time of signing the Treaty of Salynas in 1398, Lithuanian nobles had acknowledged Vytautas as their King as a symbolic declaration of allegiance.[20] Vytautas himself sought to officially establish his reign by coronation at least three times.[3] All three attempts were unsuccessful because the political situation was much more complicated—by this point the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were under a joint rule of Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) with the Crown being in Kraków, Poland. As a consequence, the idea of a fully-fledged Lithuanian monarchy as well as Poland losing its influence over its neighbour was met with fierce resistance from the Polish nobles.[3] The first time coronation was planned on 8 September 1430, but after one of the delegations that transported the crown learned that the first delegation was robbed on its way to Lithuania, they returned to Nuremberg. In the same year of October, Vytautas up until his death had planned his coronation at least two more times but with no success.[3]

In 1526, the Lithuanian Council of Lords suggested King Sigismund II Augustus to grant the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the status of a kingdom, but such a proposal was rejected by the ruling Jagiellonian dynasty.[21]

Wilhelm Karl von Urach (Mindaugas II)

During the First World War, the German Empire wanted Lithuania proper to be annexed and become a part of either Prussia or Saxony,[22] which for 123 years remained to be a part of the Russian Empire following the Third Partition of the Polish−Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. In an attempt to avoid becoming a province but remain on good terms with Germany, the Council of Lithuania decided to establish a separate constitutional monarchy with Wilhelm von Urach as King with his residence being in Verkiai Palace. According to the twelve-point document resembling the rudiments of a Constitution, the Kingdom of Lithuania was supposed to have had a bicameral legislature with a representative role of the monarch. Wilhelm von Urach was also presented with conditions such as adopting the title of Mindaugas II, letting his children to a Lithuanian school, only appointing courtiers, ministers and other high-ranking public officials who are Lithuanian citizens and speak the country's official language as well as not leaving the state for more than two months per year without the permission of the government. As the war ended, it became clear that Germany was losing. On October 5, 1918, in the Reichstag the new Chancellor of Germany Maximilian of Baden announced that his state acknowledged the right of nations to self-determination and supported their efforts of becoming independent countries.[23] Soon afterwards, Germany expressed its official support for the independence of Lithuania.[23] Furthermore, the diplomats of France had also unambiguously proclaimed to the Council of Lithuania and the Parliament that having a monarch of German descent would be seen as unacceptable.[24] On November 2, 1918, as it became apparent that King-elect Mindaugas himself was hesitant to arrive in Lithuania for his coronation due to political unrest, the Council decided to abandon the idea of being a satellite monarchy and establish a fully independent republic instead.

Although there are no monarchist parties in modern Lithuania, there is a monarchist movement, which is in favor of re-establishing the short-lived monarchy of 1918.[25] The movement alongside the Lithuanian Royal Union of Nobility believe that the current Lithuanian state did not undergo all of the complicated and necessary procedures to truly abolish the Lithuanian monarchy.[26] According to the senate marshal of the organization "Palace of the Kingdom of Lithuania", Stanislovas Švedarauskas:

Can we present the specific date when the Kingdom of Lithuania of the Middle Ages ceased to exist and when did the Lithuanian 20th-century constitutional monarchy end? In the words of historians, when Mindaugas I died in 1263, the Kingdom had disappeared as well. However, after almost 100 years, in the 14th century, Gediminas would send his letters proclaiming to be "King of Lithuanians and many Ruthenians." In November 1918, the State Council left the question of Mindaugas II to the Constituent Assembly. And while it is true that the latter declared Lithuania to be a democratic republic on May 15, 1920, I have never heard of the Constituent Assembly officially denouncing the State Council's declaration of July 11, 1918, which called to create a constitutional monarchy in Lithuania and invite Mindaugas II to take his throne.[26]

Political commentator Česlovas Iškauskas responded:

In 1918, Germany exerted great influence. But now the idea of re-establishing the constitutional monarchy as well as the activities of the "Palace of the Kingdom of Lithuania" to me seems like a game when you have nothing better to do. At the moment Lithuania has much more important issues—it needs to think how to withstand current threats, not about a new monarchy.[27]

Prince Inigo von Urach, the grandson of Wilhelm von Urach (Mindaugas II), claims that according to Almanach de Gotha he remains to be the rightful claimant to the Lithuanian throne[28] and is willing to become King of Lithuania, if the nation wants him to. To quote him from an interview for LRT, "It's not my thing to decide it [the idea of officially being crowned King], that's the thing of the population here, of the citizens of Lithuania. It's not my thing [to decide]. But I promise—if they want me, I would be ready for this job."[25][29] He also mentioned that Wilhelm von Urach expressed his will in his Testament of "keeping the claim of the throne" of Lithuania as well as Monaco.[29]