King Charles III is direct descendant of 15th century warlord who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM- King Charles might be the ruling monarch of the UK, but his royal lineage isn't just linked to the British royal family. Charles is reportedly an actual descendent of Vlad the Impaler, the insipration behind Bram Stoker's literary vampire Count Dracula.
According to Lad Bible, Vlad is the great-grandfather 16 times removed of the former Prince of Wales. The 15th century Wallachian ruler also known as Vlad Dracula or Vlad III. The warlord earned the nickname of 'Vlad the Impaler' thanks to his cruel method of dealing with his enemies.
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Vlad's merciless nature became known in the 1400s when Vlad was a ruler of the region now known as Romania. As per the outlet, legend has it that he once even used a host of impaled corpses to scare an invading army from attacking.
Whether Vlad was truly the inspiration behind Stoker's Dracula, the 1897 gothic horror novel, is up for debate, But what is known is that there are several stories that point to Vlad the Impaler's bloodthirsty and violent nature. Michael Beheim's poem, 'Story of a Despot Called Dracula, Voievod of Wallachia', talks about many of such instances of his cruelty.
One such ancedote talks about how Vlad had two monks impaled to 'assist' them to go to heaven. He then also ordered the impalement of their donkey because it began braying after its masters' deaths.
King Charles is related to him given the fact that the British royal family's bloodline comes from all over Europe. Several royals have married within their family, with the Queen and Prince Philip being third cousins or Queen Victoria marrying her first cousin, Prince Albert. As per Lad Bible, Charles once joked about being linked to Vlad during a visit to Romania. He said, "you could say I have a stake in the country."
In 1998, when Charles first visited Romania, he praised the country's 'unique beauty' and 'extraordinary heritage'. He went on to buy and restore an 18th century cottage in the little Transylvanian village of Viscri. According to the outlet, Charles found out about his link to his bloodthirsty ancestor during his initial trip in the 90s, a claim which was outlined in David Hughes' book 'The British Chronicles'.
The Romania Tour Store, which offers vacations in the country, said, "Prince Charles has talked multiple times about his European lineage, being the great-grandson 16 times removed of none other than Vlad the Impaler, through the consort of George V, Queen Mary," adding, "it’s also no secret that Prince Charles is very fond of Romania, especially of the Transylvania region."
The firm said, "it was after his first visit to Transylvania in 1998 that he found out about his connection to Vlad the Impaler, a connection that he is very proud of." The firm also added, "because of his involvement in the region, the mayor of the city of Alba Iulia has proposed to grant Prince Charles the title of Prince of Transylvania as recognition for being a prominent ambassador of the Transylvania region all over the world."
