The only way to make getting your kid a pony seem like a yawnable event? Claiming a swath of land as your own kingdom, thereby turning your offspring into royalty. And heck, once you’re a princess, the ponies will come to you.

A Virginia man says he’s planted a literal flag designed by his kids in a small area between Egypt and Sudan called Bir Tawil, where no country has claimed an 800-square-mile swath, reports the Bristol Herald Courier. He trekked out to the mountainous region after getting permission from the Egyptian government to travel through the country to get to his intended spot.

This way, he can call the area his kingdom — specifically, the Kingdom of North Sudan — and name his 7-year-old daughter Emily a princess.

“Over the winter, Emily and I were playing, and she has a fixation on princesses. She asked me, in all seriousness, if she’d be a real princess someday,” the dad explained. “And I said she would.”

Though there are other claimants to the property, he says he did all the proper research and is set to make his kingdom official.

“I do intend to pursue formal recognition with African nations,” he said, with plans to get Sudan and Egypt to recognize the kingdom as a first step.

And while he and his wife got their daughter a princess crown and are giving her the royal treatment, which is “cool” according to the new princess, the little girl says the reason she wants to be a princess is to make sure children in the area have food.

“That’s definitely a concern in that part of the world,” her dad said. “We discussed what we could do as a nation to help.”

He adds that Emily and his two sons will be a part of whatever happens next for the kingdom.

“They are really getting into the idea,” he explained. “I think the idea of a nation with a clear purpose of helping other people … I think that’ll be well-received and we’ll get recognition from other nations to partner with.”

My dad always made sure to garnish my PB&Js with parsley to make them “gourmet,” which was pretty much enough for me, but sure, being princess is cool, too.

Abingdon man claims African land to make good on promise to daughter [Bristol Herald Courier]

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