A British social media sensation has faced backlash online for declaring himself 'legally dead' in an attempt to secure a refund for a missed flight.

Comedian Max Fosh, 30, documented this unusual escapade and shared his controversial content on YouTube earlier this week.

He missed a commercial flight he had booked from a London airport, and allegedly pretended to have passed away to claim a full refund from the airline.

Since then, Fosh has garnered over two million views, explaining that his actions were a result of the travel company initially refusing his request to cancel the booking.

The refusal prompted him to scrutinize the travel company's T&Cs, which stated that refunds were only given in the event of a passenger's death, entitling them or their family to their money back.

The YouTuber had attempted to cancel the flight (Getty Stock Image)

This inspired Fosh to realize that the airline hadn't specified which country's death certificate was required, leading him to contact the 'press offices of major governments' worldwide, as mentioned on his YouTube channel.

Eventually, Seborga - a small village and self-declared principality in Liguria, near the French border, and part of the Italian province of Imperia - responded to him.

In his much-debated online post, Fosh explained: "The town functions as an independent nation with its own flag, currency, and government.

"[They said that] due to these unique circumstances, they were willing to sign a document declaring that technically, according to them, I am deceased."

Upon arriving in the town, he met with the Princess of Seborga, Nina Menegatto, who signed the death certificate after a brief tour.

"Thankfully, my dispute with a major airline seemed to resonate with the princess and Seborga's quest for independence, so she kindly agreed to sign a special one-off death certificate," the prankster continued.

Nina Menegatto, the Princess of Seborga, signed the death certificate (MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

He then staged a fake funeral for himself, hiring three fake mourners, before applying to the airline for a refund and submitting his forged death certificate.

"It worked," he revealed in his new video. "I received an email from the airline [five days later] agreeing to proceed with my refund application and requesting my bank details."

Unsurprisingly, the lengths Fosh went to for his refund have not been well-received by several social media critics, many of whom have criticized him online.

"This guy is so petty that he booked another flight just to get a refund for a missed one," one commenter remarked on his video.

Another added: "Imagine an airline filing a lawsuit against someone who managed to get their money back using a death certificate signed by a princess from an independent state in Italy? The entire courtroom would be baffled."

The social media star held a fake funeral (Getty Stock Image)

Regarding the fake funeral, a third commenter wrote: "I was scared for a moment, don't do that to me."

Despite being offered the refund, Fosh later declined the money after consulting his lawyer, who advised him, 'it's not fraud but it is fraudulent'.

"He basically reprimanded me and said I shouldn't claim the money," Fosh told his subscribers. "So I'm going to leave it at that. Please don't try this at home."