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The modern state of Albania has twice been a monarchy. The first time was after it was declared independent in 1912. (The Angevin Kingdom of Albania did not encompass the entirety of the modern state.) Under the independence settlement imposed by the Great Powers, the country was styled a principality, and its ruler, William of Wied, was given the title of sovereign prince. However, these styles were only used outside the country. In Albanian, William was referred to by the title mbret, or king. This was because many local nobles already had the title of prince (princ, prinq, or prenk in various Albanian dialects), and because domestically the Albanian sovereign could not be seen as holding a title inferior to that of the King of Montenegro.