nobility (families whose principal title ranked below that of prince or duke — except mediatized families, listed in a section of their own) were not included in the almanac. Nor were the grandees or ducal families of Portugal and Spain (where titles, being transmissible through both male and female lines, were regularly inherited by descendants of non-patrilineal lineage). Families of some Italian and East European nations (e.g. Russia, Romania), where the princely title was claimed by many, were also incomplete. Yet the reigning, formerly reigning and noble families included in the almanac numbered in the hundreds by the time the almanac ceased publication in 1944. In 1890 the almanac renamed II A to section II, and II B to section III. Dynasties reigning over non-European nations were listed in section I B. Families which became extinct were listed for the final time in the year following the death of the last member, male or female, and subsequent editions referred readers to that volume. Families that ceased to be included for other reasons, such as lack of proof of a family's legitimate descendants or discovery that it did not hold a valid princely or ducal title, were omitted from then on, but added, along with dates of previous insertion, to a list after the last section of each Annuaire Genealogique (Genealogical Yearbook), which page was entitled Liste des Maisons authrefois publiées dans la 3e partie de l'Almanach de Gotha ("List of Houses formerly published in the 3rd section of the Almanach de Gotha.") From 1927, the almanac ceased to include all families in each year's edition, and instead rotated entries every few years. Where titles and styles (such as Serene Highness) had ceased to be recognized by national governments (e.g. Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia), the almanac provided associated dates and details, but continued to attribute such titles and styles to individuals and families, consistent with its practice since the French revolution; deposed sovereigns and dynasties continued to be accorded their former titles and rank, but dates of deposition were noted, and titles exclusively associated with sovereignty (e.g. emperor, queen, grand duke, crown princess) were not accorded to those who had not borne them during the monarchy. Titles of pretence below sovereign rank were accorded to members of formerly reigning dynasties as reported by heads of their houses, otherwise self-assumed titles were not used. The almanac included an explicit disclaimer announcing that known