Jeremiah Heaton, is a perfect example of the lengths to which any parent can go to make their child happy.
Heaton, a resident of Virginia who works in the mining industry, has claimed a piece of land in Africa (between Egypt and Sudan), declaring his daughter a princess and himself a king! So how did this seemingly bizarre event transpire you wonder?
In winter 2013, the father of three was playing with his then 6-year old daughter Emily at their home in Abingdon when the little girl asked him if she could be a real princess. Heaton reveals he did not wish to make any false promises to his daughter who was "big on being a princess" but gave in.
"As a parent, you don't want to tell a child no, and clearly it meant a lot to her to think that she would be, so I told her, 'Absolutely, you'll be a real princess one day,'" said Heaton in a phone interview.
Post this promise, Heaton scouted the Internet for unclaimed areas over the globe and focused his search on the term "terra nullius" which means "land belonging to no one" in Latin. It is during his search the father chanced across the unclaimed land in Africa.
A few months later, Heaton traveled to the remote stretches of Egypt and to the 800 square miles of unclaimed dry desert land between Sudan and Egypt - the desert area of Bir Tawil. On June 16, which was Emily's seventh birthday, Heaton placed a blue flag with stars designed by his children to stake his claim on the land. Heaton and his family have dubbed the area "Kingdom of North Sudan."
Upon returning to the U.S. from his African sojourn, Heaton and his wife created a crown for Emily and asked family and friends to address the 7-year old as Princess Emily.
"I wanted to show my kids I will literally go to the ends of the earth to make their wishes and dreams come true," says Heaton.
However, despite his claims, to have control of the "kingdom" Heaton would require legal acknowledgement from neighboring countries, the UN and several other groups who hold the political reins of the area.
Heaton on his part intends to get in touch with the African Union for assistance in formally establishing the Kingdom of North Sudan and says that his claim is valid. He is optimistic that the African Union will welcome his request. Heaton also intends to create positive relationships with both Egypt and Sudan and per the wishes of Emily, is looking to make the kingdom an agricultural production area.
