King of Italy
Guy of Spoleto was opposed by Berengar of Friuli for the Iron Crown of Lombardy. Although Berengar had the advantage of being allied with the Carolingian family, and of having been crowned as king of Italy in 887, from 888 Guy was closer to Rome, and had already allied himself with Pope Stephen V, who had described Guy “as his only son”. Fighting between the rival contenders began, and it was Guy who had himself proclaimed king of Italy in a diet held at Pavia at the end of the year 888. He was formally crowned King of Italy by Pope Stephen V in 889, and this was followed by his coronation as Roman Emperor on 21 February 891, together with the crowning of his son Lambert II as King of Italy.