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

(#5) The King Of Marduk Attempted To Claim Sealand

In 2009, a German man who called himself the King of Marduk attempted to claim Sealand for the so-called Kingdom of Marduk. He said that because Sealand wasn’t mentioned in any of the treaties created after World War II, it was up for grabs.
Prince Michael called the man an "imposter" and promised that "any persons attempting to encroach upon our territories without our permission will be dealt with appropriately."
(#11) It's Nearly Impossible To Run A Tech Business There

In the early 2000s, Sealand was the proposed home of HavenCo, a tech venture that was intended to be a data safe haven for anyone who wanted to store data away from the prying eyes of governmental law. The servers would be stored in a nitrogen-based underwater environment that you’d need scuba gear to access, and armed guards would be on duty at all times. Ryan Lackey, a then 21-year-old MIT dropout who headed the project with the 32-year-old Sean Hastings, said that they would blow up the servers rather than let anyone access them.
The venture failed spectacularly. First of all, the dot-com bubble burst. But HavenCo also flopped due to its location. Sealand was too tiny to store much of anything, and due to the micronation's offshore location, it cost a ton of money to bring and install supplies on the platform. The royal family also expressed concerns over antagonizing the British government by sanctioning potentially illegal activities.
(#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.
(#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.
(#4) The Prince Of Sealand Got Away With Shooting At People

In 1968, a group of engineers working on a nearby buoy hurled inappropriate sexual remarks at Penny Bates, the Princess of Sealand. Her brother Prince Michael overheard, and retaliated by firing at the engineers with an automatic pistol.
When the Prince traveled to mainland England, he was arrested and put on trial for a firearms offense. The case was thrown out of court because Sealand was beyond British jurisdiction, and the Prince got off scot-free. Prince Michael’s father, Sealand founder Roy Bates, called this decision confirmation of Sealand’s sovereignty.
(#6) Most Sealand Citizens Don't Live There

Sealand has twenty two official residents, which isn't exactly a thriving population. What's more, many of them don't actually live on Sealand full-time. When a reporter for the Belfast Telegraph visited in 2013, there were only five people present, and none of them lived there permanently.
Princess Penny couldn't stand the place, and left for good as soon as she was able to. Prince Michael, whose family makes up most of the population, has been living in the U.K. for years. While he spent a large part of his own childhood on Sealand, he wanted his children to be educated in the U.K. Now that they are adults, his children help out with maintenance, and are expected to take full responsibility for Sealand.
In an interview with the BBC, Prince Michael said that, "with my new grandson Prince Freddy being fourth generation Sealander its future will be assured."