At two points, Baldwin granted the title to nobles in Western Europe, first to Hugh IV of Burgundy and then to Philip of Sicily.

After Demetrius's death, the succession to the defunct kingdom was contested, with three separate, conflicting, lines of titular 'kings of Thessalonica' forming in the 13th century.

As her dowry, William abandoned the title 'King of Thessalonica', with his titular claim to the city and region surrounding it returning to its actual owners, the Byzantine Empire.

[4] In 1266, the titular Emperor of Constantinople, Baldwin II, sold the title 'King of Thessalonica' to Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy.

Baldwin considered the rights of the Montferrat line of titular kings to be void as they had been granted the title by Frederick II, who was excommunicated and condemned as a heretic.