King Charles related to Dracula, owns properties in Transylvania

King Charles is related to the real life royal who inspired the character of Dracula.

The revelation came from actor Luke Evans who met the royal after finishing work on 2014 film 'Dracula Untold'  and revealed Charles told him he'd traced his ancestry back to blood-thirsty Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler - also known as Vlad III, Vlad Tepes and Vlad Dracula - who is said to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker's fictional vampire.

Speaking on 'The Jonathan Ross Show', Luke explained how the bizarre conversation came about, saying: "I remember the first time I spoke to Charles. I was super nervous.

"He came up to me and said, 'What are you working on?' and I said, 'I've just finished a movie about Vlad, who turns into Dracula.' And he went 'Funnily enough, I'm related to Vlad Tepes'.

"I thought he was joking, but went through his lineage to Vlad."

In 'Dracula Untold', Luke played 15th century Romanian ruler Vlad III with Dracula being his monstrous alter-ego.

The real Vlad ruled the region of Wallachia in what is now Romania and was said to have been a fearsome ruler who killed thousands and executed many of his enemies using impalement which earned him his gruesome nickname.

Bram Stoker's book 'Dracula' was published in 1897 and many believe he used the Vlad mythology to help create his most famous character.

King Charles is believed to be Vlad's great grandson 16 times removed through King George V's consort Queen Mary. Since discovering the historical link, Charles has visited the region numerous times, bought property in Transylvania and even carried out charity work there through his Prince of Wales Foundation.

'The Jonathan Ross Show' airs on Saturday at 10.10pm on ITV.

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