THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

And so, on September 2, 1967, Roughs Tower became the “Principality of Sealand”, the world’s newest and smallest country.  Roy became Prince Roy, his wife Princess Joan, and Michael and his sister Penelope, prince and princess.  The normal trappings of statehood soon followed, including coins, stamps, passports, a flag, and a constitution.  The Sealanders would be joined by many proud citizens over the years – a cast of adventurers, rogues, conmen, and cyberpunks all happy to call the principality home and go head-to-head with the British government.

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A famous photo of seventeen-year-old Penny shows her posing in a beret with two guns in her hands on the deck of Roughs Tower, a couple of Molotov cocktails visible on the railings behind her, looking not unlike Patty Hearst.  

Taylor-Lehman/Sealand, 2020