PRINCE Harry has been sinking his teeth into some family history, making an Easter visit to Transylvania, home of his ancestor Count Dracula.
The Prince spent the Easter break in the picturesque Romanian village of Miclaus, near to the castle of Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century bloodthirsty ruler also known as Dracula, who inspired Bram Stoker’s novel. He stayed with Royal family friend Count Tibor Kalnoky in a 16th Century manor house.Harry went motorbike riding in the snowy mountains around the manor, where bears and wolves roam wild.
Prince Charles claims a close connection to the area through Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, who earned the sobriquet Vlad the Impaler thanks to his favored method of execution; impaling his enemies on metal stakes. Vlad was a distant relative of Charles’s great-grandmother, Queen Mary.
Prince Charles has previously joked about the connection, saying: “Transylvania is in my blood. The genealogy shows I am descended from Vlad the Impaler, so I do have a bit of a stake in the country.”
William and Kate flew home from their ski vacation on a budget flight last week, and Harry did the same, traveling on no-frills airline, accompanied by just his bodyguard, after loading up with crisps and snacks at a petrol station en route.
Passenger Tasya Hodges tweeted: “Oh my God prince Harry just got on my plane to Romania!! On Wizz Air!!.”
Harry didn’t leave Romania empty-handed. Istvan Nagy, mayor of the town of Baraolt, told the Mediafax news agency he gave the prince a bottle of the fiery local plum brandy.