Prince Charles reconnected with his cousin, Vlad the Impaler, during a tour of Bucharest on his final day in Romania.
The Prince, who is directly related to the 15th century blood-drinking tyrant, stopped to admire a statue of his relative on Friday in front of crowds of admirers.
Vlad Dracula, as he was lovingly known, ruled Transylvania during the 15th century when he famously impaled 15,000 Turks on stakes and ate bread dipped in the blood of his victims.
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, was spotted last year shapeshifting into a reptilian by popstar Lady Gaga, who described seeing Charles’ teeth as “glistening in the light from the other side of the room.”
Express.co.uk reports:
Charles, who is on a nine-day tour of Europe, stopped in front of the imposing statute of Vlad, to whom he is related through his great-grandmother Queen Mary, George V’s wife, who as a Princess of Teck was descended from the German Wurttenbergs and thereby linked to the bloodthirsty Vlad, who reputedly impaled 15,000 Turks on stakes and ate bread dipped in the blood of his victims.
Later, when Charles visited a Romanian hospice run by a UK charity working to improve care and quality of life for terminally ill patients and their families, he was left smitten by a little girl.
Maria Mihai, 11, who has undergone two operations for a brain tumour, chatted happily away to the Prince through an interpreter as she and other children painted Easter eggs.
Maria held the Prince’s hand and then showed off her language skills by counting up to 10 in English. She was rewarded with a round of applause from Charles, who then asked her to count to six in Romanian.
In the afternoon, Charles flew to Florence and was joined by his wife Camilla as they visited the British Institute, where the Duchess of Cambridge studied history of art during a gap year.
Vlad Dracula, as he was known, ruled Transylvania briefly during the 15th century when he perpetrated horrific atrocities, reputedly impaling 15,000 Turks on stakes and eating bread dipped in the blood of his victims.
Later, when Charles visited a Romanian hospice run by a UK charity working to improve care and quality of life for terminally ill patients and their families, he was left smitten by a little girl.
Maria Mihai, who has undergone two operations for a brain tumour, chatted happily away to the Prince in Romanian – but luckily an interpreter was on hand.
Charles joined the 11-year-old and other children who were painting Easter eggs and complimented them on their work.
Maria held the Prince’s hand and then showed off her language skills by counting up to 10 in English. She was rewarded with a round of applause from Charles, who then asked her to count to six in Romanian.
The youngster, enjoying a respite break with her mother and younger sister at the institution run by Hospices of Hope, said afterwards: “I liked meeting the Prince but I was a bit confused because I didn’t know what egg to give him from the ones I made.”
The charity has been working in Romania for 25 years and, before leaving the centre, Charles cut an anniversary cake to mark the occasion.