Random Odd Story of Sealand, The Smallest "Country" On Earth (12 items)

(#2) There Was An Attempted Coup

In August 1978, Prince Roy and his wife Princess Joan left Sealand on business. While they were gone, the self-described Prime Minister of Sealand, a German named Alexander Achenbach, hired a group of mercenaries to launch an attack on the micronation. After storming the platform, they took Prince Michael hostage. Prince Roy fought for his son's release, and ended up holding Achenbach's lawyer and charging him with treason.
The United Kingdom declined to intervene in the affair. Germany sent a diplomat over to negotiate, and they eventually convinced Sealand to release their citizen. Prince Roy considered the visit to be de facto recognition of Sealand’s sovereignty.
(#10) FIFA Doesn't Recognize Sealand's Team

Sports can be a great way to stir up patriotism, so a micronation like Sealand starting its own football (or soccer) team makes a lot of sense. The Sealand National Football Association (SNFA) isn't recognized by FIFA, but the team hopes to eventually compete in the VIVA World Cup, an international tournament for teams who aren't part of FIFA.
(#9) Criminals Sold Fake Sealand Documents

In 2000, Spanish police broke up an international crime syndicate that was selling fake Sealand passports, driver’s licenses, university titles, and nationality documents. These documents may have been used for money laundering and drug trafficking.
None of this made Sealand look particularly good, but there was no evidence of criminal involvement on their part.
(#8) Thousands Requested Sealand Passports Post-Brexit And Trump

After Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, many Americans declared that they were leaving. A similar sentiment arose amongst British citizens who didn't support Brexit.
Instead of looking into moving to Canada, thousands of people have applied for Sealand passports and residency. Sealand hasn’t issued any passports since September 11, but even if it did, the platform can only accommodate about 150 people.
(#1) The U.K. Doesn't Recognize Sealand As A Sovereign State

When it was first established, Sealand wasn’t part of the United Kingdom. That changed in 1987, when the U.K. extended its territorial reach from three miles to twelve. Sealand, which sits six miles from British shores, was suddenly on British land.
Sealand doesn’t agree with this assessment. Michael Bates, the Prince of Sealand, told the BBC that Sealand "[has] never asked for recognition, and we’ve never felt the need to ask for recognition. You don’t have to have recognition to be a state, you just have to fulfill the criteria of the Montevideo Convention which is population, territory, government, and the capacity to enter into negotiation with other states."
(#7) Sealand Sells Titles To Support Itself

Have you ever wanted to become a count? What about a baroness, or a knight? If that sounds appealing, then head over to the online Sealand Shop, where you can buy these titles for prices ranging from £29.99 to £199.99.
Besides fancy titles, the Sealand Shop sells keychains, T-shirts, pens, mugs, and other swag. They also take donations. No one ever said running a micronation was cheap.