He seized Roughs Tower, which was outside U.K. territorial waters, and on Sept. 2, 1967, his wife's birthday, he declared it an independent state: Sealand. "It was, of course, a hugely romantic gesture to make my mother a princess," Prince Michael said. They arrived by helicopter with a film crew in tow, taking Prince Michael by surprise. His imprisonment brought a German diplomat to Sealand, which Prince Michael considers to be "de facto recognition" of his nation by another country. "We had a few dubious people asking us to do things that we didn't really agree with," Prince James said.
