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King in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia.

The Prince-Elector
Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
 of Brandenburg
Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
 was a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
. In addition to his electorate which was part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
, he also ruled the Duchy of Prussia which lay outside of the Empire. In 1701 Elector Frederick III
Frederick I of Prussia

Frederick I , of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty, was Prince-elector of Brandenburg and the first King in Prussia ....
 wanted to show his greatness by adopting the title king.






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King in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia.

The Prince-Elector
Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
 of Brandenburg
Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
 was a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
. In addition to his electorate which was part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
, he also ruled the Duchy of Prussia which lay outside of the Empire. In 1701 Elector Frederick III
Frederick I of Prussia

Frederick I , of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty, was Prince-elector of Brandenburg and the first King in Prussia ....
 wanted to show his greatness by adopting the title king. At the time there were only three royal titles within the Empire: "King of the Germans" (a title held by the Emperor), "King of Bohemia" (often held by the Emperor as well), and "King of the Romans
King of the Romans

King of the Romans was the title used by the Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperator futurus prior to his imperial coronation performed by the Pope, ....
" (held by the Emperor's heir).

In return for Hohenzollern assistance in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession was a war fought in 1701-1714, in which several European powers combined to stop a possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under a single Bourbon monarch, upsetting the European Balance of power in international relations....
, Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Habsburg , Holy Roman emperor, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, was the second son of the emperor Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Maria Anna of Spain....
 allowed Frederick to crown himself "King in Prussia", not "King of Prussia"; Frederick was only an elector in his domains within the borders of the Empire, not a king. Even so, his move was controversial, and only became widely accepted after the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht

The Treaty of Utrecht that established the Peace of Utrecht, rather than a single document, comprises a series of individual peace treaty signed in the Dutch Republic city of Utrecht in March and April 1713....
 in 1713. The title "King of Prussia" implied lordship over the entire Prussian region, not simply the Duchy of Prussia, and the assumption of such a title by the Hohenzollern margraves would have threatened neighboring Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
; because the province of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia

Royal Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Poland from 1466 and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1772. Royal Prussia included Pomerelia, Chelmno Land, Malbork Voivodeship, Gdansk, Torun, and Elblag....
 was part of the Kingdom of Poland
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th and 17th-century Europe, formed by a Union of Lublin of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569....
, the Kings of Poland
List of Polish monarchs

Poland, or at least its nucleus, was ruled at various times either by ksiazeta or by Kings . The longest-reigning dynasties were the Piast dynastys and Jagiellon dynastys ....
 titled themselves Kings of Prussia until 1742.

Throughout the 18th century the power of the Kings in Prussia continued to increase. They were victorious over the Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
n Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austria branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918....
 in the three Silesian Wars
Silesian Wars

The Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Kingdom of Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War....
, greatly increasing their power through the acquisition of Silesia
Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas....
. King Frederick II
Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a monarch of Kingdom of Prussia from the House of Hohenzollern. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV of Margraviate of Brandenburg....
 adopted the title King of Prussia in 1772, the same year he annexed most of Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth....
.