Voting Station

Paddy Roy Bates

Please vote to see the next celebrity.

Monarch

The Resume

    (1921-October 9, 2012)
    Born in United Kingdom
    Former British Army Major, fisherman, butcher and pirate radio broadcaster
    Established the micronation of Sealand on an abandoned WWII-era naval defense platform (September 2, 1967)
    Proclaimed himself 'Prince Roy'

Why he might be annoying:

    He was fined £100 for operating an illegal pirate radio station (1966).
    His original plan for Sealand was to operate another radio station from there, but that never happened because the British passed a law banning broadcasting from marine structures.
    Sealand was never recognized as a nation by any other country.
    National Geographic wrote that 'the chief export seems to be hyperbole.'
    He eventually handed over the administration of Sealand to his son, Prince Regent Michael, and retired back to England.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He served with the British Army in World War II, seeing action in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy.
    He established the Principality of Sealand on September 2 so he could give his wife the title of Princess on her birthday. (Which is either a grand romantic gesture, or the ultimate cover for being too cheap to buy jewelry. Pretty awesome either way.)
    After he and his son Michael fired warning shots at a Royal Navy ship, they were tried on weapons charges in a British court, which ruled that Britain lacked jurisdiction, since Sealand lay in international waters (1968).
    Although Britain later expanded its territorial waters from three miles out to twelve miles (1987), thus putting Sealand within their jurisdiction, they largely ignored Bates.
    He said, 'I might die young, I might die old, but I won't die of boredom.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 32 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 34 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 21 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 98 Votes: 59.18% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 61 Votes: 73.77% Annoying