By Tequila Mockingbird
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 6/15/25 – Here’s a theory: King Charles didn’t bestow the OBE on Gary Oldman just because of his moving portrayal of punk icon Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy — even though Charles once admitted the performance brought him to tears. No, there might be another reason, one that cuts a little… deeper.
Consider this: Oldman also played Dracula in the 1992 cult-classic film, embodying none other than Vlad the Impaler — the bloodthirsty 15th-century Wallachian prince who inspired Bram Stoker’s famous vampire. And guess who just so happens to be a distant relative of Vlad himself? That’s right: King Charles III.
Through his great-grandmother Queen Mary of Teck, King Charles has a genealogical connection to the notorious Vlad, tracing back through Hungarian and Transylvanian nobility to the Basarab dynasty. Charles is considered Vlad the Impaler’s 16th great-grandson (yes, really — 16 times removed), and it’s a lineage he doesn’t shy away from. In fact, he’s expressed admiration for the region of Transylvania and even owns property there, actively working to preserve its culture and landscape.
So maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t Sid that won Gary the royal nod — it was Dracula. After all, what’s more touching to a monarch than seeing a long-lost (and possibly undead) ancestor brought to life on screen?
(Dan Doperalski/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images)
And let’s be honest… with royal bloodlines that stretch for centuries, the idea that “the royals live forever” doesn’t seem so far-fetched after all.
Maybe the vampire plots weren’t so fictional, huh?
