Sealand Ahoy! - The World's Smallest Principality? Quiz

Answer: 168 feet by 88 feet

The fort was constructed during the Second World War and positioned on the Rough Sands sandbar in 1943. It was part of Britain's anti-aircraft protection. During the war it would have housed between 200 and 300 personnel. The last of these was evacuated in 1956.

Answer: Prince Roy

Back in 1967, the Sealand royal family consisted of Prince Roy and Princess Joan together with their children, Prince Michael and Princess Penelope. Roy had been a major in the British army and Joan was a former model. Princess Penelope ceased to use her title after marrying a "commoner".

Answer: To use it for broadcasting pirate radio

Bates had previously broadcast from another disused fort, the Knock John tower, under the names of Radio Essex and BBMS (Britain's Best Music Station). After these operations were outlawed, in 1966, he moved equipment to Rough Sands because it was outside the then limit of British territorial waters.

It was, however, occupied on behalf of another pirate radio station, Radio Caroline. At Christmas 1966, the Bates family "invaded", taking advantage of Caroline's staff being onshore. There were ongoing "battles" as Caroline sought to regain the fort but their attempts were unsuccessful. Ironically, Bates' pirate radio activities never recommenced at Rough Sands due, primarily, to a lack of funds.

Answer: The recognition of Sealand by the United Nations

Sealand's greatest claim to recognition as an entity independent of the UK came on 25th November 1968. Prince Michael appeared before Essex Crown Court charged with firearms offences. This followed an incident in which shots were fired at a Royal Navy vessel. The court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to act as Sealand fell outside of the UK's then territorial limits. The tax authorities have also ruled that Prince Roy is not required to pay National Insurance whilst he is resident on Sealand.

Since then, the territorial limits have been extended from three miles to twelve miles and encompass Sealand. In 1990, however, shots were once again fired at another Royal Navy vessel in a well-publicised event. The UK authorities chose not to pursue legal action, which Sealand took as an implicit acceptance of its continuing independence.

In 1978, a German diplomat was sent from London to negotiate the release of a German national being held on Sealand.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted in 1982, established that any artificial islands automatically come under the jurisdiction of the nearest coastal state. Sealand maintained that this had no bearing upon its status as its claim to independence was already well-established by that date.

Answer: The 1987 extension of Britain's territorial waters from 3 miles to 12 miles

Sealand's response was to increase its territorial limits by the same amount, meaning that there is a large swathe of "disputed" waters. Prince Edward was married in 1990, but not to Princess Penelope ("Penny") of Sealand. The sentencing of Roy Bates was also a red herring as no such conviction occurred.

Answer: 0

Although there had been no official recognition, Sealand maintained that various countries, in different ways, had unofficially recognised its independent existence. Britain, for example, apparently recognised independence by not taking legal action when shots were fired at a navy vessel. Also, Germany conducted diplomatic negotiations. Lastly, France sent a presidential thank you letter in response to a gift of Sealand stamps.

Answer: An invasion and kidnapping of the heir to the throne

In 1978 a German national, Alexander Achenbach, attempted a coup with the backing of German and Dutch mercenaries. Prince Michael was kidnapped and released a few days later in the Netherlands. The fort was subsequently reclaimed, as narrated by Michael: "We phoned a friend who owned a helicopter. He'd performed stunts in James Bond films, but this was the first time he'd done it for real. I descended from the helicopter to the platform with a gun, fired a shot and said: "Everyone put their hands up!" and that was that". (Source: sealandnews.com)

The invaders were held as prisoners of war but released very quickly, with the exception of Achenbach who, as a holder of a Sealand passport, was charged with treason and held for ransom. The German government sent a diplomatic representative who was able to negotiate Achenbach's release. They had earlier approached the UK for help, but been told that no assistance could be given as the UK had no legal jurisdiction over Sealand.

Israel's win may not have created waves in Sealand, but caused several TV stations in Arab countries to cease coverage of the event prematurely as the eventual winners became clear. Jordanian TV even announced that the runner-up song had won!

Answer: Establishing a data haven with minimal legal restraints

Pretty much the only restraints were on child pornography (and other pornography illegal within the European Union), spamming and malicious hacking.

Sealand most definitely does not issue passports to illegal immigrants. Principality Notice PN 036/07, issued in 2007, reads:
"It is a strict requirement in Principality law that any person visiting here or resident here must first have been granted a relevant visa in respect of that visit or residence. Our application list for general visas has been suspended for some years and remains suspended; this is to protect our citizens and residents here and is strictly enforced ... Assertions or claims in the media relating to "asylum" residence of various persons are wholly without substance, appear to have originated from sources of fantasy, and should be disregarded."

Given that Sealand was severely ravaged by a fire in 2006, it also seems unlikely that the principality will be used as a launch pad for rockets.

Answer: It has no words

The national anthem, "E Mare Libertas", was composed by Basil Simonenko (aka Bazzzman) and adopted in 2001. Sealand also has its own flag, stamps, currency and two national holidays - Independence Day (September 2nd) and Regent's Day (August 8th = Prince Michael's birthday).

In 2002, the population was given as 27. Religious affiliation was about 26% Church of England and 74% other. (Source: www.worldstatesmen.org).

Answer: 750 million Euros

The sale was organised by Spanish firm, Inmonaranja, hence the reference to Euros. The official Sealand currency is the Sealand Dollar.
(Source: BBC News 8th January 2007)

One potential buyer was the file-sharing website, Pirate Bay, outlawed in their native Sweden. The Bates family, however, refused to countenance these twenty-first century pirate activities, an irony given their own roots in pirate radio.