Picture yourself being king (or queen) of your own island—complete with its own old but handsome English castle and rustic heritage pub. It might sound like a dreamland fantasy but, if you fancy making it a reality, a town in northern England is looking. Just off Furness Peninsula on England’s west coast, lonely Piel Island—with its castle from the 1300s and over-300-year-old public house, The Ship Inn—is in want of someone with the right mindset, and a penchant for living in solitude, to take over her lease, run the pub, and care for the island. As for the said kingship, that too is in the bargain—and it’ll almost be official. The inn’s first recorded landlord, Edward Postlethwaite, served the role from 1746 to 1766. And since the 1800s, according to local authorities, the title “King of Piel” has been bestowed on those who filled the post. An initiation rite began—involving …