This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Jon Wertheim visits Sealand, the smallest territory in the world to claim a sovereign state. Getting there—and staying the night—is an adventure in itself.
A micronation in the extreme, Sealand has all the trappings of a country: a constitution, a government, a permanent population (one), a defined space (a platform jutting from the sea about the length of two tennis courts) – even a national anthem. A former British naval fortress during World War II, the kingdom lies about seven miles off the east coast of England.
It is led by a man named Prince: Michael Bates.
But to see what it was all about, Wertheim and his crew had to get there first.
“It’s one of those places where you look at where it is on the map, and you say, ‘It looks pretty,'” Wertheim said. “But this could be in the South Pacific, very far away.”
To arrive at Sealand, the crew boarded the boat and were hoisted onto the platform one by one on a small swing. It took several hours to get all the cameras and sound equipment onto the platform.
Designed as a military fortress, the two seven-story towers on the platform were intended to prevent German bombing raids on London. Today, it hosts a floating country. A bench press becomes a national gym. Two taper candles form the chapel. When 60 Minutes was on board, the galley kitchen hosted a state dinner: a pot of pasta cooked by 60 Minutes cameraman Massimo Mariani.
While shooting the story, Wertheim and the producers stayed overnight. The bedroom is set down to the tower, and because Wertheim is at sea level, the North Sea splashed against the bedroom wall, inches from the bed.
“I’d be lying if I said I had the most comfortable night’s sleep,” Wertheim said.
But there is a limit to Sealand’s humor. In line to find laughter on the platform is the bottom line: the Bates family must spend real money to continue. Prince Michael Bates’ parents founded Sealand in 1967, and in the following decade, the king estimates that his family has spent millions of dollars trying to achieve their dream of becoming a sovereign state.
Fortunately for the Bates family, Sealand seems ready for internet-age capitalism. Prince Michael and his sons, Prince James and Prince Liam, are now selling souvenirs online, including stamps, T-shirts, coffee mugs – even personalized Sealand email addresses. The royal family is also in the process of creating a “digital citizenship” to help fund Sealand, a place, according to its website, “where innovation thrives and communities that value and encourage freedom in an evolving digital world.”
Then there are the honorary degrees. For a cool $149.99, anyone in the world can become a knight in Sealand. Spend $299.99 and collect a title count or countess. According to Prince James and Liam, the sale of the title offsets the cost of operating the country, for now.
Moving forward, the princes of Sealand saw their nation in two ways. In addition to the physical manifestation of the rusting fortress jutting out of the water – Sealand will remain alive online, due in large part to the idea of its founding.
“Ideas are infectious, aren’t they?” Prince Liam told Wertheim. “What’s better than carving your own path in life and choosing your own future?”
For the 60 Minutes crew, before each returned to the small swing to be lifted in the North Sea and returned to stronger ground, Wertheim was given his own title: Duke of Sealand.
“I’m a duke,” Wertheim said. “I have a business card to prove it, and if you want to call me Duke, you’d better.”
The video above was originally published on November 26, 2023. It was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and edited by Sarah Shafer Prediger.
