Prince Michael shares the secrets of ‘Sealand’
In 1967, Roy Bates declared an off-shore fort as a sovereign state. Since then, his son, Prince Michael ‘holds the fort’ and now runs the world’s smallest micro-nation.
Listen to what Prince Miichael had to say about Sealand's policies on land reform, crime, labour and education:
Prince Michael of Sealand and his family.
About The Principality of Sealand
Sealand was founded as a sovereign Principality in 1967 in international waters, six miles off the eastern shores of Britain. The history of Sealand is a story of a struggle for liberty. Sealand was founded on the principle that any group of people dissatisfied with the oppressive laws and restrictions of existing nation states may declare independence in any place not claimed to be under the jurisdiction of another sovereign entity. The location chosen was Roughs Tower, an island fortress created in World War II by Britain and subsequently abandoned to the jurisdiction of the High Seas.
The independence of Sealand was upheld in a 1968 British court decision where the judge held that Roughs Tower stood in international waters and did not fall under the legal jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. This gave birth to Sealand's national motto of E Mare Libertas, or "From the Sea, Freedom".
The official language of Sealand is English and the Sealand Dollar has a fixed exchange rate of one U.S. dollar. Passports and stamps have been in circulation since 1969 and the latter decade of the 20th century saw an impressive expansion in its activity both socially and industrially as it began to develop a growing economic base which underscored its long-standing membership of the international community of States.
The official stamps of Sealand.
Sealand currency.
Sealand coat of arms.
Flag of Sealand.
The Sealand passport.