Man claims kingdom so daughter can be princess
Jeremiah Heaton control a small region between Egypt and Sudan called Bir Tawil
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-07-15 15:41 GMT
Abingdon: An American man says he has claimed a kingdom in Africa so his daughter can be a princess.
Jeremiah Heaton tells the Bristol Herald Courier that he recently trekked to a small, mountainous region between Egypt and Sudan called Bir Tawil. No country claims the land.
Heaton says he planted a flag designed by his children there so that he could become a king, and more importantly, so his 7-year-old daughter Emily could be a princess. They named the area the Kingdom of North Sudan.
Princess Emily Heaton, 7, smiles as she talks about her
father's birthday present to her July 2, 2014 in Abingdon,
Va. Jeremiah Heaton, Emily's father, has claimed 800 square
miles of land between Egypt and Sudan that has not been
claimed by either country during recent land disputes.
Emily is now the queen of the land. (Photo: AP)
Shelia Carapico, a professor of political science and international studies at the University of Richmond, says Heaton would not have political control over the land without legal recognition from neighboring countries, the United Nations or other groups.
Heaton says he hopes to get Sudan and Egypt to recognize the kingdom.