His Royal Hugs! Charles cuddles boy, 11, on tour
A DELIGHTED Prince Charles was surprised by a family friend on a tour of Bucharest’s Old Town to learn about his relative Vlad the Impaler yesterday.
The heir to the throne, who can count the 15th century nobleman who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a relative, spotted Valentin, the son of his friend William Blacker, and reached out for a hug from the 11-year-old.
Mr Blacker, a writer-turned architectural conservationist who joined Charles for part of his guided tour, said the Prince had met Valentin before on his many trips to Romania. “He loves my son,” he said.
Young Valentin added: “It’s not the first time he’s hugged me.” Mr Blacker is working to preserve Romania’s threatened churches and other architectural gems.
The Prince also has a deep affection for the country – he owns two properties there – and its people.
On a nine-day tour of Europe, Charles stopped in front of the imposing statute of Vlad.
He is related to the medieval prince through his great-grandmother Queen Mary who, as a Princess of Teck, was descended from the German Wurttenbergs and thereby linked to the bloodthirsty Vlad, who reputedly impaled 15,000 Turks on stakes and ate bread dipped in the blood of his victims.
When Charles later visited a Romanian hospice run by a UK charity working to improve care and quality of life for terminally ill patients and their families, he was enchanted by one brave patient.
Maria Mihai, 11, who has undergone two operations for a brain tumour, chatted happily away to the Prince through an interpreter while holding his hand.
Charles flew on to Florence and was joined by wife Camilla when they visited the British Institute, where the Duchess of Cambridge studied history of art in 2000.