{"id":82656,"date":"2023-08-26T20:48:13","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T20:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/?p=82656"},"modified":"2023-08-26T20:48:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T20:48:13","slug":"im-the-leader-of-a-remote-island-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean-its-the-smallest-country-in-the-world-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/travel\/im-the-leader-of-a-remote-island-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean-its-the-smallest-country-in-the-world-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I'm the leader of a remote island in the middle of the ocean – it's the 'smallest country in the world' | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

A BRIT is the leader of a remote island in the middle of the ocean – and claims it's the smallest country in the world.<\/p>\n

Michael Bates became the leader of "Sealand", a platform 7.5 miles off the Suffolk coast, when his dad Roy died in 1991.<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

The platform began life as the anti-aircraft station HM Fort Roughs in 1942, during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

It was taken over by former army major Roy Bates in 1966, ten years after it was abandoned by the Royal Navy.<\/p>\n

Essex man Roy ran pirate radio station from the run-down fort, which was built outside British territorial waters.<\/p>\n

On his wife Joan's birthday nine months later he declared it the Principality of Sealand – appointing her its Princess.<\/p>\n

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Michael told the BBC: "I was only 14 when I first came out during my school summer holidays to help my dad, and I thought it\u2019d only be a six-week adventure.<\/p>\n

"I certainly didn\u2019t think it\u2019d be a story that\u2019d carry on for 50-odd years. <\/p>\n

"It was a strange upbringing, as sometimes we stayed for months on end, waiting for the boat to bring supplies from the mainland."<\/p>\n

The platform was at first lit by candles, and visitors were hoisted up to it with a winch.<\/p>\n

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Since then Sealand has launched its own flag, anthem, currency, passports and football team.<\/p>\n

Its national dish is lobster spaghetti, which Roy discovered while fighting in Italy during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Michael, who owns a seafood export business, rules over the manmade island with his wife Mei Shi and kids James, Charlotte and Liam.<\/p>\n

He funds the running costs of the platform by selling royal titles like Lord and Baroness for \u00a329.99 online.<\/p>\n

TRUE BELIEVER<\/h2>\n

One recent customer is Baron Dorian True of Sealand, a former British Airways mechanic from Swansea.<\/p>\n

Dorian told Wales Online: "I wanted to use it with the business because it seems more of an attraction.<\/p>\n

"I'm in Swansea Business Club and I'm down as Baron True.<\/p>\n

"Sometimes I get the mickey taken out of me like at the doctor's.<\/p>\n

He added: "They say, 'Baron True, your prescription's ready' and I get some funny looks.<\/p>\n

"The title is great but I'm Dorian at the end of the day. I'm just a valleys boy."<\/p>\n

In 1968 Michael was charged with multiple crimes after firing warning shots across the bow of a British government ship near the platform.<\/p>\n

But a court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction over Sealand – tacitly recognising it as an independent country.<\/p>\n

A group of German and Dutch mercenaries invaded Sealand in 1978 – only for the Bates family to take them hostage.<\/p>\n

The German ambassador arrived by helicopter to negotiate the prisoners' release, giving Sealand more credibility as a state.<\/p>\n

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\nSource: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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