Although none of these prospects came to fruition, they reflected monarchical attempts to accommodate the rapid shifts in national allegiance, regime and international alliances that intensified throughout the 19th century, leading up to and following Europe's Great War of 1914–1918.

[citation needed] After the extinction of the Zähringer line in 1218, Egino IV inherited parts of their possessions due to his 1180 marriage to Agnes of Zähringen.

[citation needed] In the early modern period, the Duchy of Württemberg often found itself in the theatre of war as French and Austrian armies fought to extend the hegemony of the rival houses of Bourbon and Habsburg on the European continent.

[2] Although Duke Frederick III was nominally a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, as an ally of Napoleon I he assumed the higher title of Elector in 1803, and when the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806 leaving the Duchy of Württemberg without a suzerain, the Elector embraced complete independence, assuming the title King of Württemberg.

[citation needed] The Kingdom of Württemberg survived until 1918 as part of the Confederation of the Rhine and later the German Empire, and was ruled by four kings: The House of Urach was founded by the secret marriage of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg (1761–1830), a younger brother of the reigning Duke Frederick III (later King Frederick I), with Wilhelmine Rhodis von Tunderfeld (1777-1822) at Coswig, Anhalt on 28 August 1800.

The two surviving daughters, Marie (1802-1882) and Alexandrine (1803-1884), married, respectively, Karl, Prince of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg in 1821 and Charles, Count Arpeau de Gallatin in 1830.

[3] Following the 1863 marriage of the widowed Count Wilhelm von Württemberg to Princess Florestine, sister of Prince Charles III of Monaco (1818–1889) and second in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne after her nephew, Hereditary Prince Albert (1848–1922), Count Wilhelm took up residence in Monte Carlo while retaining property in Württemberg.

Given that his kinsmen the Dukes of Teck had been Anglicized, he might have been next in the line of succession to inherit the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1921 after the death of its last king, William II, had morganatic status not been a hindrance, and had the monarchy not been abolished in 1918.

Wilhelm inherited the dukedom from his brother, the 4th Duke Karl Anselm (born 1955), who renounced the title on 16 February 1991, a few weeks after his marriage to Saskia Wüsthof.

He had been preceded in the title by his father Duke Wilhem (1864-1928), his elder brother Prince Wilhelm (1897-1957) having renounced his right of succession in January 1928 to marry Elisabeth Theurer.

[7] Still extant, although subject to substantial modern legal restrictions, the ducal trust came to include, besides liquid assets, several castles, town houses, farmlands, hunting grounds, commercial and rental buildings, and other property in Germany, France and Monaco, notably Lichtenstein Castle which remains the hereditary seat of the dukes.

The Taryba declared Lithuania's independence on February 16, 1918, but was unable to form a government, police, or other state institutions due to the continued presence of German troops.

The Lithuanians resisted this idea and hoped to preserve their independence by creating a separate constitutional monarchy, so they invited Prince Wilhelm of Urach to become their king.

[citation needed] The reign of Mindaugas II was accepted by the Catholic Church and by several European countries, as is seen in the letter from Pope Benedict XV welcoming Wilhelm's selection as the future King of Lithuania.