‘Prince Leonard’, ruler of Australian micro-nation, dies aged 93

Prince Leonard, an eccentric wheat farmer who captured Australia’s imagination by declaring himself the monarch of his own independent nation, has died at the age of 93.

The prince, whose real name was Leonard Casley, died of complications of emphysema this morning at the age of 93.

Casley declared his secession from Australia in 1970 “following a row over wheat production quotas” with the Western Australia state government, News.com.au reports.

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His 75 sq km (29 sq mi) wheat farm in the sparsely populated mid-western region became Hutt River Province, ruled by Casley and his wife, Princess Shirley, who died in 2013. Their seven heirs include Prince Wayne and Princess Sheryll.

Although the principality has never been officially recognised by the Australian government or other nations, “Hutt River has its own flag, currency and passports”, says The Guardian. Casley even commissioned a guitarist to compose a national anthem.

Hundreds of tourists visit the remote property, 300 miles north of Perth, every week, far outnumbering the principality’s 23 permanent residents.

Unsurprisingly, the self-styled prince “was locked in a legal battle with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for a number of years”, says the ABC. At the height of the dispute, in 1977, Hutt River Province briefly declared war on Australia.

Over the years, Casley proved himself “a canny - and persistent - legal adversary”, The Age reported in 2010, “resurrecting laws from the Treason Act of 1495 to the Geneva Conventions, in and out of the court” to keep the authorities at bay.

Faced with worsening health, Prince Leonard formally abdicated in 2017 in favour of his youngest son, Prince Graeme - bringing an end to a reign longer than that of Elizabeth I.

“It certainly would be nice to be able to continue, but again, you've got to be able to realise that we've all got our own period of life,” he told the ABC at the time.

Tony Seabrook, president of the state’s Pastoralists and Graziers Association, was among those who paid tribute to the “larger than life” figure, whose tongue-in-cheek protest drew attention to the struggle of farmers under government-imposed quotas.

“He challenged the bureaucracy of the day and he gave a lot of people a lot of food for thought,” he said.

“You don't find a lot of people today in our society now that are prepared to differentiate themselves with the daring and the dash that he did.”