The Romanian tourist board plans to promote the alleged family ties between British royalty and the tyrant who inspired Dracula to entice more UK visitors to the country.
The Royal Family’s ancestry has been linked to Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, who earned the sobriquet Vlad the Impaler thanks to his penchant for having his victims spiked on huge metal stakes.
The Romanian National Tourist Office announced plans to use these royal links in promotional campaigns to lure curious Brits at a London trade fair which opened today.
The country has already welcomed 7 per cent more Britons in the first three months of this year than in the same period last year, and as many as 118,000 visited in 2011.
In a 2011 documentary about the Carpathian mountains, Prince Charles made a reference to his ancestral links to ‘Count Dracula’.
‘The genealogy shows I am descended from Vlad the Impaler, so I do have a bit of a stake in the country,’ he quipped.
It is believed Queen Mary, consort of George V – Charles’ great grandfather – was related to the 15th Century slayer.
What is certain is that George V’s cousin Marie married the crown prince of Romania and went on to rule the eastern European country after the First World War.
Vlad the Impaler was notorious for his bloodthirsty campaigns against the Ottomans and fierce repression of his people.
The total number of his victims is estimated in the tens of thousands.
His reputation for cruelty is said to have helped inspire Bram Stoker’s diabolical villain, Count Dracula.
British Airways flies to five Romanian cities and Romanian Airways offers flights from Heathrow and Bristol.
As many as 157 new exhibitors are at World Travel Market (WTM) trade show this year, including 41 debutants from Europe.
Among those represented for the first time are San Marino, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The Falklands Islands Tourist Board has a stand, as does Cuba, while English Heritage and the National Trust are exhibiting for the first time.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- ‘The genealogy shows I am descended from Vlad the Impaler, so I do have a bit of a stake in the country,’.
- The country has already welcomed 7 per cent more Britons in the first three months of this year than in the same period last year, and as many as 118,000 visited in 2011.
- What is certain is that George V’s cousin Marie married the crown prince of Romania and went on to rule the eastern European country after the First World War.
