Dad Claims Foreign Land For His 'Princess'

Jeremiah Heaton, of Abingdon, Va., has made his daughter a princess. He has claimed Bir Tawil, an area between Egypt and Sudan under dispute between the two nations.

Heaton travelled to the region and planted a flag designed by his children, the father of three told The Bristol Herald Courier. It was meant to fulfill a promise to his 7-year-old daughter, Emily, that she would become a princess someday.

"As a father I do my very best to not make empty promises to my children," Heaton said in a Facebook post. "At the time I had no idea how I would honor her wish but I knew that I had to find a way." 

ABC News notes it was a 14-hour trip through the Egyptian desert. Jeremiah Heaton posted a Facebook picture of himself in the desert region with the planted flag on Emily's 7th birthday.

On Facebook, Heaton notes this is the last land left unclaimed in the world. 

“I wanted to show my kids I will literally go to the ends of the earth to make their wishes and dreams come true,” he told The Washington Post.

Emily told the Herald Courier, "It's cool."