Prince Charles says he’s related to original vampire
This Twilight thing is getting out of hand.
Prince Charles: Proud soldier of green causes armed with a spot of Earl Grey.
The Associated Press reports Prince Charles says he’s related to another famous prince — Vlad the Impaler, progenitor of vampire legend.
Why is the prince so eager to be linked to one of history’s bloodiest figures? Because he’s an environmentalist.
Prince Charles spends a considerable amount of time and money touring the planet promoting various green causes, and by saying he’s related to the hero of Transylvania, he can say he has a vested interest in preserving the forests of Romania.
Charles’ interest in Transylvania, the mountainous interior region of Romania, is not new. Weeks before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, I was in Transylvania and the tiny town of Sighisoara, one of the best-preserved Medieval cities in all of Europe, was still abuzz about a visit by Charles, who’d visited to vocally oppose the creation of Dracula Land, a vampire-themed amusement park planned for the outskirts of Vlad’s hometown.
Charles was able to help drive a stake through the heart of that project.
A local pub had a picture of the prince, who has a home in the region, on the wall. He’d allegedly stayed at the hotel upstairs — the same building that Vlad called his boyhood home in the 1400s, according to local lore.
Vlad, unbeknownst to many, is the founding father of modern Romania. He’s a hero there for battling invading Turks and preventing eastern Europe from falling under non-Christian rule. Calling him a vampire is a good way to get punched in Romania.
Irish novelist Bram Stoker chose the remote corner of Europe as the scene of his famous 1897 novel “Dracula.” He never bothered to visit. If he had, he may have gotten impaled on something.
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22 comments Add your comment
K-Ster
October 27th, 2011
12:38 pm
Hmmm… HRH Charles is not quoted as calling the Vlad dude a vampire. Nice work, AJC, in bending language. Maybe I should just stick with gossip blogs. No difference between them and the Atlanta Urinal-Constipation!
Raoul
October 27th, 2011
2:44 pm
George Mathis: I think you’d find it interesting that I am related to the boogeyman. Hide your wives!
K8
October 27th, 2011
3:01 pm
“Weeks before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, I was there and the tiny town of Sighisoara, one of the best-preserved Medieval cities in all of Europe, was still abuzz about a visit by Charles”
How does the first phrase in this sentence relate to the remainder of the sentence? Was something crucial edited? I’m confused … was Mr. Mathis in Iraq and then Sighisoara?
George Mathis
October 27th, 2011
3:16 pm
I have clarified that I was in Transylvania, not Iraq. I did not think anyone would consider Iraqis being abuzz about Charles visiting a well-preserved European city.
jae
October 27th, 2011
3:18 pm
So…what makes Vlad a vampire? At one point he is history’s bloodiest figure and later he is a hero????
Roekest
October 27th, 2011
3:51 pm
jae,
Many of history’s heroes have caused much death: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Dwight D. Eisenhower…..just to name a few.
We in the West owe Vlad a great deal, although his methods may have been barbaric.
CmdrR
October 27th, 2011
4:16 pm
I believe Mr. Stoker’s work is mostly an attack on the aristocracy, rather than on Vlad. Vlad already has a rep that lent itself to the story. That’s all. The point is: the rich eat the poor. “Occupy Transylvania,” anyone?
UBERSETZER
October 27th, 2011
4:39 pm
JUST REMEMBER THAT THE HEBREW LANGUAGE WORD FOR HOLY SPIRIT IS “WERUCH” AND THAT IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT THE ENGLISH WORD “WEREWOLF” IS SIMILAR.
THE SCRIPTURES WARN AGAINST BLASPHEMIES AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN ONE IS AWARE OF ITS OPERATION.
WE HUMANS HAVE BEEN WARNED IN GOD’S WORD OF THE FOLLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MIXING OF “SPIRIT”(WHETHER WICKED OR RIGHTEOUS) WITH HUMAN FLESH. SEE THE GREAT FLOOD REVELATION IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS AND READ THE BOOK OF JUDE FROM THE SCRIPTURES.
Highlander
October 27th, 2011
5:03 pm
“WE HUMANS HAVE BEEN WARNED IN GOD’S WORD OF THE FOLLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MIXING OF “SPIRIT”(WHETHER WICKED OR RIGHTEOUS) WITH HUMAN FLESH.” – UBERSETZER, 4:39pm
Gee, wasn’t that what the immaculate conception was all about – the mixing of “spirit” and human flesh?
Dude, find your caps lock key and press it! You do realize that with the caps lock on you could not capitalize the Lord’s name, thereby lumping him in with all manner of “mythical gods”.
By the way, I had a hard time not signing this “Alka-Setzer”
Tutoanana
October 27th, 2011
6:09 pm
Vlad is considered a hero because his troops were far outnumbered by the ottomans (Turks). He and his kingdom wanted to maintain their autonomy. So he decided to try a different strategy–scare the other side. So he rounded up all his enemies, chopped off their heads and impaled them on large poles. Then he placed them on either side of the main road into rumania. He was right. The ottomans were freaked out by what they saw and vlad’s kingdom remained ottoman free.