Sealand, a unique principality, seven miles from Britain's eas | Re:Union - Free Еuropean Nations Forum

Sealand, a unique principality, seven miles from Britain's east coast. It was founded in 1967 by retired British Major Paddy Roy Bates.
In 1966, Roy Bates and Ronan O'Reilly decided to build an amusement park on an abandoned platform that served as a military base for the RAF during World War II. However, after some time, a dispute arose between the two men, and O'Reilly left the island, but returned later to capture it. Bates fiercely defended his property and the enemy had to retreat.
The idea of building an amusement park failed and Bates' radio station "Britain’s Better Music Station" started being based on the "island".
In 1967, the establishment of a sovereign state was announced, and Bates declared himself Prince Roy I.
In 1968 the British authorities tried several times to capture the island, but they failed. Unfortunately, Bates himself was still a British citizen at the time, and when he came back to Britain, a criminal case was opened against him.
On November 25, 1968, the Court ruled that the Roy of Sealand case did not fall within its jurisdiction because it did not extend beyond the British national territories. This was the first real acknowledgment of the principality.
In 1978 there was an attempted coup in the country. Following the dispute between Prince Roy I and Prime Minister Alexander Achenbach, Achenbach seized the island in the prince's absence. Achenbach entered the island with mercenaries and took Prince Michael hostage, who was taken to the Netherlands, where he managed to escape. A plan was immediately conceived to take back Sealand, code name "Operation Trident". The most loyal and well-trained citizens of Sealand were called in, and the legendary 'Sealand Special Forces' was born. The operation was carried out a few days later. It included a helicopter attack at dawn and ended with the unconditional surrender of the invaders.
The invaders were held as prisoners of war, but released in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
In 2006, another misfortune befell the principality: a fire started on the island due to the failure of one of the generators. A rescue helicopter was sent from Wattisham Air Force Station to evacuate one of the Sealand citizens. After being airlifted to the hospital, he received medical treatment and was discharged the same day. The Principality has developed good relations with the Royal Navy's rescue teams and has for many years allowed them to conduct practical air transport exercises from the island’s fortress.
In 2017 27 people lived in the county. Sealand has its own currency, and you can get to know this unique state better and even get its citizenship on the website https://sealandgov.org/en/