HE is the heir to an unusual throne and has given an insight into life inside his own tiny kingdom.

James Bates, 28, is a fisherman, but also next in line to become head of state of Sealand.

Sealand is a tiny territory taking up just a 168 by 188ft space in the North Sea. Based six nautical miles off the coast of Harwich, the “kingdom” was founded by James’s grandfather, Roy Bates, in 1967.

Originally, a Royal Navy fortress, built in 1942, to protect the port of Harwich from the Germans, it is now James’s home from home with his dad, Prince Michael, its current head of state.

He said: “I spend about five weeks a year there and stay overnight all the time.

“It’s just incredibly quiet when you’re there–you feel really isolated because everything’s so far away.”