12/18/2015

Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

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Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line

The Romanian tourist board is to use links between the British Royal family and Count Dracula to lure in UK tourists, it
has emerged.

ThePrinceofWalesandtheDuchessofCornwallarecurrentlyinAustraliaaspartofaDiamondJubileeTourPhoto: GETTY/PA

ByVictoriaWardandAndrewHough
10:00PMGMT05Nov2012
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12/18/2015

Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

Untilnowitslonelymountainshavebeensynonymouswiththelegendofthevampire,thecruelrulerwhodrankhisvictimsblood,
terrifiedhisenemiesandcouldturnintoabatatwill.
ButTransylvaniashouldalsobeknownastheancestralhomeofthePrinceofWales,defenderoffaiths,withaloveofgardening
andclassicalarchitecture,accordingtotheRomanianNationalTouristOffice.
LinksbetweentheRoyalFamilyandVladtheImpaler,the15thcenturynoblemanwhosedeedsinspiredthevampirelegend,are
beingexploitedinanattempttoluretouriststotheeasternEuropeancountry.

TheRomanianNationalTouristOfficeistrumpetingthelineageinabrochuredistributedattheWorldTravelMarket,aleading
industryeventwhichopenedinLondononMonday.
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12/18/2015

Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

ThePrincehimselfappearsinavideobeingusedtopromotethecountryinwhichheclaimsdistantkinshipwithVladTepes,the
15thcenturyWallachianruleronwhomtheIrishnovelistBramStokerbasedhisDracula.
Transylvaniaisinmyblood,hejokesinaninterviewfirstshownonsatelitetelevisionlastyear.ThegenealogyshowsIam
descendedfromVladtheImpaler,soIdohaveabitofastakeinthecountry.
TheRomanianNationalTouristOfficeisusingthevideoonYoutubeandnewbrochurestryandboostUKvisitorsbymorethan
sevenpercent.

ThevideoclimaxeswithareferencetothePrinceofWales,whocantracehisancestrybacktoRomaniasdarkanddistantpast.
OtherliteraturehighlightsashortvisitbyPrinceHarrytothecountryinEasterthisyear,sayinghetravelledwithWizzAir,which
operates20flightsaweektofourRomaniancitiesfromLondonLutonAirport.
AspokesmanfortheRomanianNationalTouristOfficesaidthecountry,whichincorporatestheregionofTransylvania,was
lookingtousetheselinkswiththeBritishRoyalFamilytoincreaseUKtouristsoverthecomingyears.
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Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

MariaIordache,UKdirectoroftheorganisation,said118,000UKtouristsvisitedRomaniain2011.
Itwillbemorein2012.Wehaveexperienceda7percentincreaseinUKvisitorsinthefirstquarter,whichistraditionallyaquiet
periodfortouristsfromtheUK.Forthesummerandtheautumnthepercentageincreasewillbeevenbetter.
AccordingtoRoyalHighness,abookpublishedin1982bySirIainMoncreiffe,theformerchairmanofDebretts,thePrinceisa
greatgrandson16timesremovedtoVladIII.
HecantracehislineagebackthroughhisgreatgrandmotherQueenMary,theconsortofGeorgeV,toVladIV,thehalfbrotherof
thenotoriousruler.
AnotherlinktothecountryoriginatedwithPrincessMarieofEdinburgh,agranddaughterofQueenVictoriaandPrinceAlbert,who
wentontomarryKingFerdinand1ofRomaniaandruledRomaniaaftertheFirstWorldWar.
Ithasbeenclaimedthatporphyria,anirondeficiencywhichisthoughttoliebehindthevampiremyth,hasrunintheRoyalFamily.
ThePrincehasmadenosecretofhisloveforRomaniaandisbelievedtotraveltherefrequently.
In2006,hepurchasedafarmhouseinViscri,avillageinruralTransylvania,whichisavailableasaguesthouseatcertaintimesof
theyear.

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12/18/2015

Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

TheprinceispatronoftheMihaiEminescuTrust,whichworkstorestoretheculturalheritage,economyandnatureof
TransylvaniasSaxonvillagesandtheirsurroundings.
Inadditiontorestoringsome180medievalhousesandseveralchurches,thecharityhassupportedtraditionalruraltechnologies
suchastheconstructionofwoodfiredkilnsforhandmadebricksandtiles,andorganicfarming.
TransylvanianbornVladtheImpalerissaidtohavedispatchedmorethan100,000Turkishwarriorsinbattle.
Thevampirelegendissaidtohavebeeninspiredbyhispredilectionforeatingbreaddippedinhisvictimsblood.Draculameans
sonofthedevilinRomanian.
ThecountrysallegedlinkstoBritishroyalty,howeverghoulish,couldproveawelcomeboosttoitstouristindustry.
ThousandsoftouristsvisitthetownofCastleBran,Transylvania,whereVladIIIlived,everyyear.

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12/18/2015

Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

SimonPress,fromWorldTravelMarketwhichhostedtheexhibition,said:Romaniahasagreatdealoftourismpotential.Itisa
beautifulcountryalreadyreceivingmanytouristsforitsnatureandculture.
ThelinktotheBritishRoyalFamilyandtheclearfondnesstheRoyalFamilyhasforthecountrywillonlyhelptopromotethe
countryacrosstheCommonwealthandparticularlyintheUK.
THELINKTOANIMPALER
VladtheImpaler.Died1507.
Halfbrotherof:
VladIV,knownasVladtheMonk.(14311495)
Fatherof:

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Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

RaduIVPrinceofWallachiafrom(14951508)
Fatherof:
MirceatheShepherd.PrinceofWallachia.(14791560).
Fatherof:
PrincessStancaBasarabofWallachia.(15181601).
Motherof:
ZamphiraLogofatdeSzazsebes.(Died1602).
Motherof:
AdamRaczdeGalgo.(Living1609).
Fatherof:
PeterRaczdeGalgo.(15831672).
Fatherof:
ChristinaRaczdeGalgo.
Motherof:
Catherine(Katalin)KuundeOsdola.
Motherof:
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Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

gnesKendeffydeMalmoviz(born1727).
Motherof:
BaronGregor,InczdydeNagyVrad(died1816).
Fatherof:
BaronessgnesInczdydeNagyVrad(17881856).
Motherof:
CountessClaudineRhdeyvonKisRhde(18121841).
Motherof:
Francis,DukeofTeck.(18371900).
Fatherof:
PrincessMaryofTeck,latertheQueenconsortofKingGeorgeV(18671953).
Motherof:
GeorgeVI(18951952).
Fatherof:
QueenElizabethII(1926).
Motherof:
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Prince Charles, heir to Dracula's blood line - Telegraph

PrinceCharles(1948)

CopyrightofTelegraphMediaGroupLimited2015

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