King Charles III ascended the throne and is ruling the monarch of the UK after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The new King has a connection to the real-life Dracula.
Charles is an actual descendent of the 15th-century Wallachian ruler, Vlad the Impaler. Bram Stoker’s literary vampire Count Dracula is believed to be inspired by him.
Vlad III was given the nickname due to his favorite method of execution; impaling on stakes.
Vlad was a ruler of a region in the 1400s that is now known as Romania. According to the legends Vlad once used a forest of the collection of impaled corpses to deter an invading army from attacking.
While Charles’s love for Romania is known, it recently came to the light that Vlad is the great-grandfather 16 times removed through the Consort of George V, Queen Mary.
Whether he did definitely inspire Stoker’s Dracula is still up for debate, but one thing we do know is Vlad the Impaler was one sick and violent man – and he’s also the great-grandfather 16 times removed of King Charles III.
However, Charles does not hide his heritage and is said to be proud of his link to Vlad. The link does not come as a surprise given that the British royal family’s bloodline can be easily traced all over Europe.
Count Dracula’s home can be found in the region of Romania known as Transylvania.