Bram Stroker’s 1897 novel Dracula is one of the most celebrated horror books of all time. As many already know, the lead character was inspired by the real-life 15th-century ruler in Romania known as Vlad III or Vlad Tepes. Rumor has it that King Charles is related to Vlad Tepes but is this true?
No, Vlad III was not a vampire but, unfortunately for enemies, he was far worse. Born in 1431 in Transylvania, a region in central Romania, to a father known as Vlad II Dracul (meaning “Dragon”), Vlad III became Dracula (“Son of the Dragon”).
Vlad III was the ruler of Wallachia, which rests south of Transylvania. He ruled with terror and had an unnatural desire to watch his enemies die in the most painful way.
Overall in his life, Vlad III killed about 80,000 people, including impaling 20,000 who were displayed as such outside the city of Targoviste, which drove away others who witnessed the many crows eating the impaled.
It’s believed he once dined with his enemies in a forest who were all impaled, eating his meal as they slowly died, their deaths usually taking days. He also invited many to his castle only to, you guessed it, have them impaled. You can probably understand why he was also called Vlad the Impaler.
In battle with the Ottomans, Vlad III wrote, “I have killed peasants, men, women, old, and young. We killed 23,884 Turks without counting those whom we burned in homes or the Turks whose heads were cut by our soldiers.”
Dracula had a tendency to dress as an Ottoman during battles in order to kill more Ottomans who took him for one of them. This is believed to have led to Dracula’s own demise, however, as during one battle his own soldiers believed he was an Ottoman and thus killed him.
So, is this famous terror related to King Charles III? Turns out that he indeed is. King Charles is the great-grandson 16 times removed of Vlad III.
When Luke Evans appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show, he told a story about meeting King Charles.
“I remember the first time I spoke to Charles, I was super nervous. He came up to me and said, “What are you working on?’ and I said, ‘I’ve just finished a movie about Vlad who turns into Dracula.’ He said, ‘Funny enough, I’m related to Vlad Tepes.’
Evans said he thought he was joking but later realized that it was true. The fangs certainly explain why he has so much trouble brushing his own teeth.
It’s believed that the King’s relation comes through King George V’s Queen Consort Mary. Charles has even done work in the Transylvania region with the Prince of Wales Foundation and has even bought property there because of his connection to Vlad III.
I think we can all agree that the best part of this story is that the King won’t be carrying out a similar reign of terror as his ancestor. Perhaps some window smashing is not all that bad.
King Charles reportedly still travels with his childhood teddy bear, something that likely would make Vlad III role in his bloody grave.