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Difference between revisions of "Grand Duke Travis"
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| pre-type3 = Preceded by | | pre-type3 = Preceded by | ||
|- | |- | ||
| spouse = [[Prince-Consort Dinny]] <small>(m. 2016)</small> | | spouse = [[Prince-Consort Dinny]] <small>(m. 28 Dec 2016)</small> | ||
| spouse-type = Consort | | spouse-type = Consort | ||
| spouse1 = [[Grand Duchess Cathryn]] <small>(m. 2004; div. 2013)</small> | | spouse1 = [[Grand Duchess Cathryn]] <small>(m. Nov 2004; div. Jun 2013)</small> | ||
| spouse-type1= Grand Duchess | | spouse-type1= Grand Duchess | ||
| spouse2 = [[Rebecca St. Ann]] <small>( | | spouse2 = [[Rebecca St. Ann]] <small>(Jan 2003 - Mar 2004) ''never married''</small> | ||
| spouse-type2 = Consular Consort | | spouse-type2 = Consular Consort | ||
| issue = [[Prince Ashton Roman]]<br>[[Prince Daniel Nicholas]] | | issue = [[Prince Ashton Roman]]<br>[[Prince Daniel Nicholas]] | ||
| father = [[Daniel McHenry]] | | father = [[Daniel McHenry]] | ||
| mother = [[Countess of Benton|Deborah McHenry]] | | mother = [[Countess of Benton|Deborah McHenry]] | ||
| date of birth = 1980 | | date of birth = 4 June 1980 | ||
}} | }} | ||
His Royal Highness, '''Grand Duke Travis''' (birth name '''Travis McHenry''') is the founder and current Head of State of [[Westarctica]], a [[Micronations|micronation]], new country project, and environmental non-profit corporation. | |||
The Grand Duke has been involved with various micronations, and has founded three of his own, starting in 1996 with the [[Kingdom of Casbah]], then Westarctica in 2001, and finally [[Colony of Calsahara|Calsahara]] in 2009. In between these projects, he served as a governor for two provinces of [[Republic of Molossia|Molossia]]. | |||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
Travis McHenry | Travis Daniel McHenry was born 4 June 1980 in rural Benton, Pennsylvania, a town with a population of less than 1,000 people where the McHenry family has lived for over two hundred years; having first settled in the Fishing Creek Valley in the late 1700s on a 1,000+ acre tract of land deeded to Daniel McHenry by John Penn, the son of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. | ||
Travis was an unexceptional student in elementary school, being consistently reprimanded on report cards for having too much energy and being a distraction to others. In high school, he showed an aptitude for history, English, and acting, but repeatedly failed math classes and was reputedly the leader of a shadowy gang known as The Moonshine Crooks. | |||
He was accepted into the undergraduate theater program at Bloomsburg University during his first semester as a high school senior and would leave high school early to attend university classes in the evenings. | |||
===The Kingdom of Casbah=== | |||
::''Main article: [[Kingdom of Casbah]]'' | |||
During the spring / summer of 1995, Travis founded the break-away [[Kingdom of Casbah]] in rural north-eastern Pennsylvania. Travis proclaimed himself Maharaja, and ruled the agrarian nation with an iron fist. As a result of his various eccentricities and demanding temperament (including the creation of a religion devoted to the worship of the pagan deity Pan) he was overthrown twice, with the second usurpation resulting in his exile and the collapse of Casbah’s government in October 2000. The events of his reign in Casbah were later satirized in his stage play ''Delusions of Grandeur''. | |||
===Naval career=== | |||
Travis left college to pursue a career in the United States Navy where he served for eight years as an Intelligence Specialist with a Top Secret/SCI security clearance onboard the USS ''Kearsarge'' (LHD-3) and as an instructor the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His primary specialty was Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (ATFP) and foreign country military capabilities. | |||
==Claiming Marie Byrd Land== | |||
::''Main article: [[Achaean Territory of Antarctica]]'' | |||
In August 2001, while serving in the U.S. Navy, Travis discovered a loophole in the [[Antarctic Treaty]] which legally allowed him to claim a huge swath of land on the [[Antarctica|Antarctic continent]] for himself. Travis solidified this claim on 2 November 2001 when he notified nine world governments of his claim and his intention to establish a sovereign nation on the Antarctic ice. | |||
This area was initially called The Achaean Territory, but became a fully functioning nation named [[Westarctica]] in 2004. | |||
Travis took the title Grand Duke and ruled Westarctica as a peaceful and progressive monarch. During this time, he made many diplomatic friendships with other international leaders and did much to advance the recognition of Westarctica among member-governments of the United Nations. Grand Duke Travis ruled Westarctica until 2006 when he turned over the reigns of government to his successor Grand Duke Philip. | Travis took the title Grand Duke and ruled Westarctica as a peaceful and progressive monarch. During this time, he made many diplomatic friendships with other international leaders and did much to advance the recognition of Westarctica among member-governments of the United Nations. Grand Duke Travis ruled Westarctica until 2006 when he turned over the reigns of government to his successor Grand Duke Philip. | ||