Like all good conspiracy
theories, this one has some basis in fact.
According to genealogy
records, Prince Charles is believed to descend from Vlad the Impaler, the
inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. First revealed in Iain Moncreiffe’s 1982
book Royal Highness, the Prince can trace his lineage back through his great
grandmother Queen Mary, the consort of George V, to Vlad IV, the half-brother
of the notorious ruler.
The heir to the throne has
even appeared in a promotional video for the Romanian National Tourist Office,
joking “Transylvania is in my blood”.
In 2017, it was reported
that Charles had even been offered the honorific title of ‘Prince of
Transylvania’ because of his links to the region and promotion of Transylvania
as a tourist destination.
All this has proved fertile
ground for conspiracy theorists who claim, like the rest of the royal family,
Prince Charles is not all that he seems and may in fact have more in common
with his infamous ancestor than just a drop of blood.
Harper’s Bazaar says that
one of the reasons this theory carries weight is because the disease Porphyria
is present amongst the royals. Porphyria is an iron-deficiency disease that
makes skin sensitive to sunlight.
