Joan Bates ( Collins; 2 September 1929 – 10 March 2016), also known as Princess Joan of Sealand, was the wife of

Paddy Roy Bates Patrick Roy Bates (29 August 1921 – 9 October 2012), also known as Prince Roy of Sealand, was a British pirate radio broadcaster and micronationalist, who founded the Principality of Sealand.Strauss, Erwin. ''How to Start Your Own Country'' ...

, a British entrepreneur who founded the

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified se ...

known as the

Principality of Sealand The Principality of Sealand () is an unrecognized micronation that claims HM Fort Roughs (also known as Roughs Tower), an offshore platform in the North Sea approximately off the coast of Suffolk, as its territory. Roughs Tower is a Mauns ...

Early life

Bates was born Joan Collins on 2 September 1929 at

Aldershot Barracks The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...

, England, the daughter of RSM Albert Collins of the Royal Horse Artillery, and his wife, Elizabeth.Remembering Sealand’s First Sovereign Princess Joan, 1929-2016.
Michael Alexander, ''

Coin Update Whitman Publishing is an American book publishing company which started as a subsidiary of the Western Printing & Lithographing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. In about 1915, Western began printing and binding a line of juvenile books for the Hammi ...

'', 22 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016. The family were later stationed at Shoebury Barracks. As a young woman, Joan was a carnival queen and model who,Joan Bates dead: Founder and 'princess' of Sealand dies aged 86.
Cahal Milmo, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 14 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016. according to her son

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, "modelled for all sorts of companies".Joan Bates who raised her family on the principality of Sealand dies aged 86.
''Harwitch & Manningtree Standard'', 16 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

Marriage

Joan met British Army major Paddy Roy Bates at the Kursaal dance hall in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

. At the time he was recuperating from serious burns suffered during World War II. They married three months later in 1949'Princess' Joan of Sealand independent state dies at 86.
BBC News, 14 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016. at the Caxton Hall Registry Office in London. They had two children, Penelope "Penny" and Michael.

Sealand

In the 1960s, Roy and Joan launched a pirate radio station and on Joan's birthday on 2 September 1967, they declared the

independent, appointing themselves Prince Roy and Princess Joan, thus making Joan the "self-proclaimed ruler of the world's smallest kingdom".First Princess of Sealand dies aged 86.
Caroline Argyropulo-Palmer, ''The Times'', 14 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

Death

Bates died on 10 March 2016 at a

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509. Geography Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...

, Essex, nursing home, following a long illness. Her funeral was held on 17 March, with her coffin draped with the flag of Sealand. She was survived by her two children, four grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Bates featured on at least one postage stamp issued by the Principality, as well as coins inscribed "Princess Joan".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Joan 1929 births 2016 deaths People from Aldershot Micronational leaders Principality of Sealand English female models