Editing Principality of Sealand (section)

== History ==
[[File:Sealand fort.jpg|thumb|HM Fort Roughs (Sealand) in 2017]]

In 1966, Paddy Roy Bates occupied the abandoned platform to broadcast pirate radio. After British courts attempted prosecution, he declared independence on 2 September 1967, proclaiming himself Prince Roy I and his wife Joan as Princess Joan.

In 1968, British authorities tried to seize the platform. Michael Bates fired warning shots, leading to a court case in which a British judge ruled the fort was outside UK territorial waters — Sealand’s primary legal claim ever since.

In 1978, while the Bates family were ashore, a German-Dutch group staged a coup and took Prince Michael hostage. Roy and Michael retook the platform by helicopter in a dramatic counter-attack — the only armed conflict in Sealand’s history.

Prince Roy died in 2012; his son Michael continues to rule as Prince Michael.