The President of New Westphalia
Cambridge, UK
Within twenty minutes of meeting The President, we were sat in a wetherspoons pub talking about the history of the micronational community. I was sat across the table from one of the UK's longest standing micronationalists. For over 10 years, the president had been a prominent voice in the community, and was one of the first people to show interest in this project.
His interest and knowledge was second to none, and he spoke fluently about a number of nations and their specific relations with each other, charting the high and low points of the community, including a lonely planet book about micronations, and a BBC series back in the early 2000s.
It was a long time until we started talking about New Westphalia. A nation born out of the Presidents love for the political process and pageantry. Over the years, the President had hosted several micronation's at the 'UK embassy', his conservatory in Cambridgeshire. The Garden itself was New Westphalia, but because of a horrendous rain storm, we spent most of the time in doors.
Accompanying the president was his grandmother. She lived down the road and was a constant, curious presence throughout the day. She joined us in Wetherspoons, drove us to New Westphalia and then offered helpful comments and support throughout the rest of my visit.
For the president, Micronations were a community of individuals who share a similar interest. It was an opportunity to meet other like minded individuals and make friends around the world.
After the official photos, we spoke about his interests in film making and cosplay. At the presidents request, we took photos of several of his cosplays and called it a day.
Since starting this project, the President is no longer associated with the Micronational community and did not want his real name included.