BRITAIN’S Prince Charles is to visit Transylvania on Friday, two weeks after the last surviving descendant of Count Dracula advertised for a noble English heir to carry on the line made famous by his blood-sucking ancestor.
The heir to the British throne is to tour the mediaeval town of Sighisoara, near to where the Romanian authorities are building a Dracula theme park, Mediafax news agency reported on Thursday.
The theme park left investors lukewarm when shares in the project were floated in December. But it has aroused the ire of historians and religious leaders, who say it could damage the image and infrastructure of Sighisoara — a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Prince Charles, who has outspoken opinions on conservation, has asked to visit the construction site to verify for himself what the environmental impact of the theme park will be.
The financial impact of the project, where building work is due to start in mid-June, has been muted so far.
The December issue of 15,5-million shares raised $3,3-million (3,66-million euros) to fund a Dracula Castle and an international vampire institute in Sighisoara expected to cost a total of $31,5-million. But a third of the shares were left unsold.
Bucharest is counting on 1,1-million foreign and Romanian tourists visiting the theme park annually when it opens in 2004, estimating they could bring in $12-million a year.
The 60-hectare park is based on the fictional blood-sucking count created by Irish novelist Bram Stoker in his 1897 novel, Dracula, which was inspired by the Romanian 15th-century prince Vlad the Impaler.
The self-proclaimed last surviving descendant of Count Dracula said last month he was seeking a blue-blooded English heir to carry on the family line.
Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prince Ketzulesco, a former Berlin pastry chef and antiques dealer, was himself adopted in 1987 by Prince Ketzulesco, the last living member of Vlad the Impaler’s family.
He told the BBC, he and his partner had been trying for their own heir and would continue trying ”for a bit”.
But if that failed to produce offspring, the 62-year-old said he would seek an English lord or lady ”who might want to become part of the family and carry on the line”. But not a commoner, he insisted.
”We would like to adopt — but a real prince or princess. I cannot just take anyone from the street,” he told Britain’s Independent newspaper.
”They must be nobles and should be younger than me, obviously. It would be a great advantage if they could have children too.”
Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, is 53 and has two sons by the late Princess Diana. – Sapa-AFP