That’s why the British Kim Newman did not expect when he wrote his most famous novel, “Anno Dracula” (1992): another descendant of the cruel prince who inspired the creation of the most famous vampire in history is sitting on the throne of the United Kingdom.
In the book and its sequels, the blood-sucking Count created by Irishman Bram Stoker 125 years ago survived the fatal clash in the original work and returned to England, marrying Queen Victoria, becoming de facto regent and transforming the British Empire into a state. policeman full of vampires.
Stoker, as we know, was inspired by the figure of Prince Vlad 3rd Dracula (the Son of the Dragon, 1431-76), who ruled on three occasions over Wallachia, neighboring Transylvania where part of the vampire story takes place, but let’s face it that Wallachia sounds far less mysterious and menacing.
And yes, Charles 3rd claims to be a distant relative of Vlad, known as the Impaler for his fondness for the method of execution he learned while growing up as a hostage to the Ottoman sultan. Then Prince of Wales, the new king visited Transylvania in 1998 and, enchanted by the magnificent natural scenery, ended up getting close to the local history.
He began visiting Romania almost annually, where both modern Wallachia and Transylvania are located. In 2011, she said in an interview that she discovered that her lineage was linked to Dracula’s through Queen Consort Mary (1867-1953), her great-grandmother on her mother’s side.
She was married to King George Fifth (1865-1936), and had roots in the Austro-Hungarian nobility — and Hungary was a central power in the region’s history. There are two versions of the branch: one that links her directly to Dracula and the other to her half-brother, Vlad 4th the Monk (1425-1495), both sons of Vlad 2nd Dracul (the Dragon, founder of the dynasty, c. 1395-1495). 1447).
Of course, the late Queen Elizabeth II and her father, George VI (1895-1952), were also descendants of Dracula, but neither made any known mention of the subject.
Charles, in the interview promoting a documentary about the lush forests of Transylvania, said: “The genealogy shows that I am a descendant of Vlad the Impaler, so I have a certain stake in the country”, he joked, making a pun on “stake ” —English word for stake and stake, whose employment at heart is one of the classic methods of getting rid of a vampire.
He liked the area so much that he bought an old inn in Viscri, a Transylvanian village that is home to one of the region’s most impressive fortified churches, courtesy of Saxons sent in the 12th century to colonize those borders. In 2017, he declined an offer made by the local government of a fantasy title of Prince of Transylvania.
Charles didn’t mind the less obvious association: the Impaler was a ruler known for cruelty and abusive use of violence against enemies. Much of the bad press, however, came from exaggerated stories by rival Saxon nobles in Transylvania, where Dracula was born in picturesque Sighisoara.
The version spoke louder, although there were no accusations of vampirism involved. Stoker didn’t care and made a successful fusion of legends spread across Eastern Europe and the historical character. He never set foot there: it all came from reading accounts in the British Museum library.
Today, Dracula is one of the characters that most starred in movies in history, from absolute classics like “Nosferatu” (1922) to cartoons like the “Hotel Transylvania” series, apart from books, plays, series, video games. Not to mention spin-offs with or without the earl, like Newman’s own series.
In the original book, Dracula did not intend to enter the British nobility, the theme of Newman’s work, which yielded four sequels and a myriad of short stories. But he promoted the invasion of England and attacked her maidens, in a social fantasy about the fear of miscegenation in the capital of a multi-ethnic empire, in addition to violating the repressive codices of current sexuality.
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