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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

A woman who helped establish a self-proclaimed independent state on a former military platform off the Suffolk and Essex coast has died aged 86 [bbc.com].

Joan Bates and her late husband Major Roy Bates moved to an anti-aircraft fortress just outside British territorial waters almost 50 years ago.

They declared it an independent state and gave themselves the titles "Prince" Roy and "Princess" Joan of Sealand.

She is survived by their son, Michael.

Known as the "Prince" of Sealand, he has controlled Sealand, seven miles off the coast, since the death of his father in 2012 [bbc.co.uk].

Over the years, Sealand, a 10,000 sq ft platform, has encountered armed attacks by pirates and government bids to shut it down.

Sealand was in the news in the early days of the web because HavenCo [sealandgov.org] came to host servers there to escape the RIAA's machinations.

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