 They succeeded in creating a small artificial island, but their efforts at securing international recognition met with little success, and near-neighbour Tonga sent a military force to the area and annexed it.On April 1, 1977, bibliophile Richard Booth declared the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye an independent kingdom with himself as its monarch.The town subsequently developed a healthy tourism industry based on literary interests, and "King Richard" (whose sceptre was a recycled toilet plunger) awarded Hay-on-Wye peerages and honours to anyone prepared to pay for them.