linguistic:translation
Last years (1019–1025)

Historians dispute the exact date of Bolesław's coronation. The year 1025 is most widely accepted by scholars, though the year 1000 is also likely. According to an epitaph, the crowning took place when Otto bestowed upon Bolesław royal regalia at the Congress of Gniezno. However, independent German sources confirmed that after Henry II's death in 1024, Bolesław took advantage of the interregnum in Germany and crowned himself king in 1025. It is generally assumed that the coronation took place on Easter Sunday although Tadeusz Wojciechowski believes that the coronation took place prior to that, on 24 December 1024. The basis for this assertion is that the coronations of kings were usually held during religious festivities. The exact place of the coronation is also highly debated, with the cathedrals of Gniezno or Poznań being the most probable locations. Poland was thereafter raised to the rank of a kingdom before its neighbour, Bohemia.

Wipo of Burgundy in his chronicle describes the event:

Boleslaus, duke of the Poles, took for himself in injury to King Conrad the regal insignia and the royal name. Death swiftly killed his temerity.

It is widely believed that Bolesław had to receive permission for his coronation from the newly-elected Pope John XIX. John was known to be corrupt, and it is likely that consent was or may have been obtained through bribes. However, Rome also hoped for a potential alliance to defend itself from Byzantine Emperor Basil II, who launched a military expedition to recover the island of Sicily and could subsequently threaten the Papal States from the south. Stanisław Zakrzewski put forward the theory that the coronation had the tacit consent of Conrad II and that the pope only confirmed that fact. That is corroborated by Conrad's confirmation of the royal title to Mieszko II, his agreement with the counts of Tusculum and the papal interactions with Conrad and Bolesław.