Most of us would be hard pressed to define what defines a principality. Simply put (and I had to look up this definition for myself), a principality is exactly what it says it is–a nation ruled by a prince or princess. Now, why that title is used by a leader/ruler and not the title of king or queen, well, I don’t know that answer. What I do know is that most principalities are really small places, and the idea is that the land that makes up the principality is generally owned majorly by the prince or princess . Take the improbably named Principality of Sealand.

The history of Sealand originates, as many such places do, during the time of warring lands. Sealand was built high above the sea (hence the name) first as a fortress for defense of the land behind it. The sea vessels that passed below it were protected from attack because the fortress bristled with weaponry designed to thwart enemies from interfering with the vital shipping route. And, when the war ended, the fortress fell into disrepair. That’s when it was taken over from the nation who built it.

As you can imagine, Sealand isn’t large at all–it really only comprises the area of the fortress and not much else. Today, there are no forests, no agricultural land, no highways or airport. And, when the fortress was taken over, to be honest, no one really noticed at first. The person who took it over–and claimed the place and the area surrounding the fortress in his own name–was a military man, Major Patrick Roy Bates. And how do you think he took Sealand? Well, he simply occupied it. He and his family moved into the place and announced that they had founded a constitutional, hereditary monarchy called the Principality of Sealand. But the tiny nation soon came under attack from within.

It seems that a man who was the prime minister of the principality’s parliament, one Alexander Achenbach, staged a coup against Prince Patrick. It seems that the prince and his wife were away at the time, and it was rather easy for Achenbach to declare a mutiny and himself as Sealand’s new prince and ruler. He even arrested and imprisoned the heir to the principality, Prince Michael. But events moved quickly. Michael managed to convince some guards at the fortress to turn on Archenbach and the insurrectionists in the name of patriotism and out of loyalty to Prince Patrick. The guards, led by Prince Michael, recaptured Sealand and arrested the prime minister and the other coup members. Since he was officially a Sealand citizen (he had a passport, in fact), he was charged with high treason. It turned out that Achenbach had ties to Germany, and the German government sent negotiators to Sealand to secure the release of Achenbach. While the German delegation did ultimately accomplish that task, they also inadvertently gave the small principality recognition as a sovereign nation.

Again, you’ve probably never heard of Sealand, but it is real. It has passports, a flag, a constitution, and even prints its own money, mints its own coins, and issues its own stamps. The ruler of Sealand today is Prince Michael after his father died in the 1990s. You can visit the principality today, although there’s really not much for you to see or do there. The official population in 2023 is two citizens. And that’s because Sealand was a fort built during World War 2 by the United Kingdom, not on land, but on top platform of an oil rig in the North Sea.