This Little Girl Wanted To Be A Princess, So Her Dad Legally Laid Claim To A Kingdom In Africa! Here's How He Did It!

What little girl doesn’t want to be a princess??
For seven-year-old Emily Heaton, her royal wishes came true (on her birthday no less!), all thanks to dear old dad!
Jeremiah Heaton not only made his daughter a princess, he made himself a king! Last month, he traveled through Africa to an 800-square-mile patch of desert in between Egypt and Sudan. The land, known as Bir Tawil by the locals, has laid unclaimed after a border dispute between the two nations. So, on Emily’s 7th bday, her dad planted a flag that she designed (four stars and a crown) into a rocky hill and made this land his own!
He’s now calling this the Kingdom of North Sudan.
Wow. It seems like this shouldn’t be something that can happen.
Heaton explained why he wanted to own this piece of Africa, saying:

“I wanted to show my kids I will literally go to the ends of the earth to make their wishes and dreams come true.├óΓé¼┬¥

Now all the Heatons have to do is get legal recognition from neighboring countries, the United Nations or other official groups to have complete political control of their kingdom.
Heaton plans on appealing to the African Union for formal acknowledgement.
You’d think the first thing to be built in the new kingdom would be a castle for Emily, but Jeremiah says he wants to convert this arid stretch of desert into an agricultural production center, after Emily stressed that she wanted to make sure everyone in the region had enough food.
That’s very nice, Princess!
Still, we’ve gotta imagine some people will have a problem with all of this.
For a white family from Virginia with no ties to Africa to show up one day and start a kingdom, seems a bit inappropriate.
The days of imperialism on the continent are over (thankfully) and Mr. Heaton should probably realize that this might come across as being insensitive to such a war-torn corner of the world.
He explained though that while the land claims of Africa in the past were acts of war, his is an act of love. Heaton said:

“I founded the nation in love for my daughter.├óΓé¼┬¥

Well, we hope Emily is happy to finally be an official princess!
[Image via AP Images.]