Blue blood: Prince Charles to save Transylvania’s forests because of family link to ‘Dracula’

Prince Charles is campaigning to save the forests of Transylvania, inspired by his ancestral links to Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century nobleman better known by his patronym, Dracula.

Rapid economic growth in Romania – which is now part of the EU – means that the forests of the Carpathian Mountains are under threat from development and logging.

The prince is calling for the forests, some of the last untouched wilderness areas in Europe, to be protected before they are lost, like the woodland that once covered Britain.

He claims a family connection to the area through Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, who earned the sobriquet Vlad the Impaler thanks to his favoured method of torture and execution.