The Kingdom of Redonda is a

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

associated with the tiny uninhabited

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island of

Redonda Redonda is an List of uninhabited regions, uninhabited Caribbean island which is a dependency of Saint John, Antigua and Barbuda, in the Leeward Islands, West Indies. The island is about long, wide, and is high at its highest point. It lie ...

. The island lies between the islands of

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

and

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

, within the inner arc of the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

chain, in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. Redonda is part of the country of

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

. The island is just over long and wide, rising to a peak. In September 2023, the Redonda Ecosystem Reserve was established, covering nearly of land and sea, making it the largest marine protected area in the region. The island teems with bird life, but is more or less uninhabitable by humans because there is no source of freshwater other than rain, and most of the island is extremely steep and rocky, with only a relatively small, sloping plateau area of grassland at the summit. Landing on the island is a very challenging process, possible only via the leeward coast on days when the seas are calm. Climbing to the top of the island is also very arduous. Despite these difficulties, from 1865 until 1912 Redonda was part of a lucrative trade in

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

mining, and many thousands of tons of

phosphates Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphor ...

were shipped from Redonda to Britain. The ruins associated with the mineworkings can still be seen on the island. Various parties claim Redonda as a micronation. An account told by the fantasy writer

M. P. Shiel Matthew Phipps Shiell (21 July 1865 – 17 February 1947), known as M. P. Shiel, was a British writer, remembered mainly for supernatural horror and scientific romances. His work was published as serials, novels, and as short stories. '' The Pu ...

in 1929 claimed that Redonda was established as an "independent kingdom" decades earlier in the 19th century. The title to the supposed kingdom is still contested to this day in a half-serious fashion. The "Kingdom" is also often associated with a number of supposedly aristocratic members, whose titles are awarded by whoever is currently the "King". There are a number of individuals in different countries who claim to be the "King" of Redonda.

History

The early history of the "Kingdom" of Redonda is shrouded in doubt. There is no known evidence, documentation, or third party verification of Shiel's story.

During Shiel's lifetime

(1865–1947), an author of works of adventure and fantasy fiction, was the first person to give an account of the "Kingdom of Redonda," in 1929, in a promotional

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

for a reissue of his books. According to Shiel's story, Shiel's father, Matthew Dowdy Shiell, who was a trader and Methodist lay preacher from the nearby island of

, claimed the island of Redonda when his son, Matthew Phipps Shiell, was born. Supposedly the father felt he could legitimately do this, because it appeared to be the case that no country had officially claimed the islet as territory. Shiell senior is also said to have requested the title of King of Redonda from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and according to the legend, it was granted to him by the British Colonial Office rather than by Victoria herself, provided there was no revolt against colonial power. The son (originally named Matthew Phipps Shiell but later known as the writer M. P. Shiel) claimed he was crowned on Redonda at the age of 15, in 1880, by a bishop from Antigua. However, as M. P. Shiel's recounting of this story never saw print until 1929, it is possible that some, most, or all of the story of his being crowned King of Redonda is pure invention. Shiel cites two different names for the bishop who performed the coronation: the Reverend Dr Mitchinson and the Rev. Hugh Semper. These men were both genuine clerics in the Caribbean during this period. Whether Shiel had a faulty memory or couldn't keep his invented story consistent is unknown. In "About Myself" Shiel writes that he attempted to impose a tribute tax on the American

miners, but the request was refused. There has been no independent evidence provided of any such demands. Several of Shiel's works of fiction concerned various aspects of monarchy. One of his detective heroes is called Cummings King Monk. In Shiel's 1901 end-of-the-world story '' The Purple Cloud'', the protagonist Adam Jeffson, the last man on earth, establishes himself as monarch of the devastated globe, while Shiel's novel ''The Lord of the Sea'' (1901) has Richard Hogarth, another Overman figure, coming to dominate the world. In 1899, Shiel wrote about visiting Redonda in his adventure novel ''Contraband of War''. In later life, Shiel gave the title, and the rights to his work, to his chief admirer, London poet and editor

John Gawsworth Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong (29 June 1912 – 23 September 1970), better known as John Gawsworth (and also sometimes known as T. I. F. Armstrong), was a British writer, poet and compiler of anthologies, both of poetry and of short stories. He a ...

(Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong), the biographer of

Arthur Machen Arthur Machen ( or ; 3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh people, Welsh author and mysticism, mystic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his influential supernatural ...

, who was the realm's Archduke. Gawsworth (1912–70) seems to have passed on the title several times when the writer was low in funds. Gawsworth's realm has been facetiously termed "Almadonda" (by the Shielian scholar A. Reynolds Morse (1914–2000)) after the Alma pub in Westbourne Grove,

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

, London, where "King Juan" frequently held court in the 1960s.

After Shiel's death

Gawsworth had also apparently promised to make Max Juan Tonge Leggett, the first son of his friends Charles and Jean Leggett, his Redondan heir if they gave the child (born in the late 1950s) his royal name of Juan. Some researchers accept that Gawsworth bestowed the title on his friend the publican Arthur John Roberts in 1967, by "Irrevocable Covenant". Prior to this the late writer

Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish writer, songwriter and singer from Dublin who wrote in Irish and English. He was a socialist and an Irish republican. Born into the literary Behan family, he was one of the mo ...

(1928–89) also claimed Gawsworth transferred the title to him in 1960. It is also said that Gawsworth handed on the throne to one Aleph Kamal, whose peers include the novelist

Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women and their problems relating to men and soc ...

. Self-appointed monarchs of Redonda include/included Michael Lawler in 2010,

Marvin Kitman Marvin Kitman (November 24, 1929 – June 29, 2023) was an American television critic, humorist, and author. He was a columnist for ''Newsday'' for 35 years and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1982. Kitman was the aut ...

and

William Scott Home William Scott Home (born January 2, 1940) is the pen name (and, later, legal name) of an American author, poet and biologist principally known for writing Horror fiction, horror and dark fantasy. Best known for a short story that appeared in 1978 ...

. Scott Home's claim to the title was, he says, based on ESP and reincarnation. Publisher, author and environmentalist

Jon Wynne-Tyson Jon Linden Wynne-Tyson (6 July 1924 – 26 March 2020) was an English author, publisher, Walters, Kerry S., Portmess, Lisa, 1999, ''Ethical Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras to Peter Singer'', SUNY Press, p. 233, . Quaker, activist and pacifist, w ...

, however, claims that Gawsworth, prior to dying in 1970, bestowed the kingship on him with the literary executorships, although the writer Iain Fletcher was the joint literary executor for Gawsworth.

Later developments

Jon Wynne-Tyson subsequently visited Redonda in 1979, on an expedition organized by the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and Shielian publisher A. Reynolds Morse. Wynne-Tyson ruled as King Juan II until abdicating in favour of the novelist

Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 1997, transferring the literary executorship of Gawsworth and Shiel along with the title. Arthur John Roberts' title was subsequently inherited by William Leonard Gates, whom Gawsworth had given the title of "Baron L'Angelier de Blythswood de Redonda". From his home at

Thurlton Thurlton is a small village in South Norfolk, located 14 miles (22 km) south-east of the city of Norwich, and 9 miles (15 km) west of the Suffolk coastal town of Lowestoft. The villages name means 'Thorferth's farm/settlement'. Thur ...

, Norfolk, Gates, who was known as King Leo, presided over a group known as "The Redondan Foundation", not be confused with "The Redondan Cultural Foundation" set up by Paul de Fortis (see below). Gates died on 2 January 2019 and his crown passed to Queen Josephine. As in Gawsworth's reign, meetings of these rival groups have been held at the

Fitzroy Tavern The Fitzroy Tavern is a public house situated at Charlotte Street in the Fitzrovia district of central London, England, owned by Samuel Smith Old Brewery. It became famous during a period spanning the 1920s to the mid-1950s as a meeting place ...

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia ( ) is a district of central London, England, near the West End. Its eastern part is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urbanised in ...

, central London. King Leo 'reigned' as king for thirty years, since 1989. Williamson, who lived on Antigua until his death in 2009, set himself up as the rival "King Robert the Bald". In 1988, London

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

Paul de Fortis established "The Redondan Cultural Foundation". De Fortis promoted a new king, Cedric Boston (born on

in 1960). Boston claimed the Redondan throne in 1984, winning the allegiance of a number of Gawsworth's peers. On the question of the Kingdom of Redonda, Wynne-Tyson has written: Various people have been given a "peerage" status in Redonda. Generally, these were writer friends of Shiel's and Gawsworth in the early years of the Kingdom. They include

Oliver Stonor Oliver Stonor (born ''Frederick Field Stoner'', and also using the pseudonym (E.) Morchard Bishop, FRSL) (3 July 1903 – 12 April 1987) was an English novelist, reviewer, translator, and man of letters. He was briefly the husband of the Irish wr ...

Edgar Jepson Edgar Alfred Jepson (28 November 1863 – 12 April 1938) was an English author. He largely wrote mainstream adventure and detective fiction, but also supernatural and fantasy stories. He sometimes used the pseudonym R. Edison Page. Early life E ...

, Thomas Burke,

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

Carl Van Vechten Carl Van Vechten (; June 17, 1880December 21, 1964) was an American writer and Fine-art photography, artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary estate, literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame ...

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pa ...

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell Order of the British Empire, OBE (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservation movement, conservationist, and television presenter. He was born in Jamshedpur in British Ind ...

, G. S. Fraser, Michael Harrison,

John Heath-Stubbs John Francis Alexander Heath-Stubbs (9 July 1918 – 26 December 2006) was an English poet and translator. He is known for verse influenced by classical myths, and for a long Arthurian poem, "Artorius" (1972). Biography and works Heath-Stubbs ...

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

Julian MacLaren-Ross Julian Maclaren-Ross (7 July 1912 – 3 November 1964) was a British novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, screenwriter, and literary critic. Background He was born James McLaren Ross in South Norwood, London, in 1912, the youngest of three ...

Philip Lindsay Philip Lindsay (30 April 1906 – 4 January 1958) was an Australian writer, who mostly wrote historical novels. Life and writing He was the son of Norman Lindsay, an Australian artist and a younger brother of writer Jack Lindsay. He was ...

Rebecca West Dame Cecily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

, John Waller,

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. He was the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. He made contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Lovecraftian horror, cosmi ...

Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

, J. B. Priestley,

Eden Phillpotts Eden Phillpotts (4 November 1862 – 29 December 1960) was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in Mount Abu, India, was educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for ten years before studying for the stage ...

Stephen Potter Stephen Meredith Potter (1 February 1900 – 2 December 1969) was a British writer best known for his parodies of self-help books, and their film and television derivatives. After leaving school in the last months of the First World War he wa ...

Martin Secker Martin Secker (6 April 1882 – 6 April 1978), born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Dou ...

Frank Swinnerton Frank Arthur Swinnerton (12 August 1884 – 6 November 1982) was an English novelist, critic, biographer and essayist. He was the author of more than 50 books, and as a publisher's editor helped other writers including Aldous Huxley and Lytton ...

John Wain John Barrington Wain CBE (14 March 1925 – 24 May 1994) was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group known as " The Movement". He worked for most of his life as a freelance journalist and author, writing and re ...

, and

Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons, pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was born ...

. This practice has continued with later kings; examples include the artist

Stephen Chambers Stephen Lyon Chambers (born 20 July 1960) is an English artist and Royal Academician (elected 2005). Early life and education Born 20 July 1960 in Kensington, London to book illustrator Gillian Mure Wood (22 February 1932 – 28 June 2012) a ...

, ennobled in 2017. Wynne-Tyson, Javier Marías, Bob Williamson, William Gates and Cedric Boston were all interviewed in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

documentary ''Redonda: The Island with Too Many Kings'', broadcast in May 2007.

Death of Javier Marias

On 11 September 2022,

died in Madrid. It was reported that Xavier I had named

Juan Gabriel Vásquez Juan Gabriel Vásquez (born 1973) is a Colombian writer, journalist and translator. He has written many novels, short stories, literary essays, and numerous articles of political commentary. His novel ''The Sound of Things Falling'', publishe ...

as his successor, however, Vásquez later clarified that an official naming ceremony had never taken place. In August 2022, Spanish writer Javier Diéguez visited the island of Redonda and left some books by Javier Marías,

, and

as a tribute to Javier Marías and the previous monarchs of Redonda. Diéguez's book 'Redonda' narrates his journey to the island and serves as a posthumous tribute to Javier Marías.

List of kings

Original claims: * Matthew Dowdy Shiell, 1865–1880 * Matthew Phipps Shiell, 1880–1947 (styled as ''King Felipe I'') *

, 1947–1967 or 1970 (styled as ''King Juan I'') Later claims: *Arthur John Roberts, 1967–1989 (styled as ''King Juan II'') *

, 1970–1997 (styled as ''King Juan II'') *William Leonard Gates, 1989–2019 (styled as ''King Leo'') *

, 1997–2022 (styled as ''King Xavier'')

In popular culture

In 2007, the Wellington Arms pub in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England, attempted to declare itself an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

of Redonda, in order to gain

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

from a nationwide ban on smoking in enclosed workplaces, including pubs. This ultimately failed when the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

pointed out that

His Majesty's Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

recognises

as a dependent territory of

which, accordingly, is not entitled to establish a separate embassy or high commission in the United Kingdom.

References

External links

* * The Redondan Foundatio
Home Page – The Redondan Foundation – Kingdom of Redonda
(Website of William L. Gates, King Leo)