20-07-2025
Luke Evans recalls King Charles' surprising link to Vlad the Impaler
Actor Luke Evans has shed light on how he met King Charles in his 2025 memoir 'Boy from the Valleys: My Unexpected Journey'. The incident, which took place back in 2014, at Prince's Trust gala dinner held at The Savoy Hotel in London, led the actor to learn some "fascinating" royal family history, reports People.
The actor, who had been named an ambassador for the charity, which the King founded in 1976 to support disadvantaged youth, was meeting the monarch for the first time.
The meeting also saw the two exchange what Evans describes as 'a good, strong handshake' before the King casually inquired about his latest project, which had a Vlad the Impaler connection.
Evans had just wrapped Dracula Untold when he met the King. He portrayed Vlad the Impaler, the brutal 15th-century Romanian ruler who inspired Bram Stoker's iconic vampire in the film. But little did he know that the King would reveal a distant family link to the real-life Dracula himself.
When Luke mentioned his role as Vlad the Impaler in Dracula Untold, 'the King's eyes lit up,' Evans wrote. The royal then said, 'I will tell you an interesting story. I am actually related to Vlad Tepes.' To Evans' surprise, 'he then proceeded to talk me through his entire lineage, all the way back to the 1400s,' and added, 'He told me he now owns a number of properties in Romania, where Vlad was ruler.' Charles then smiled, saying, 'Yes, and not a lot of people know it.'
"I noticed he had stayed a little longer with me than he had with other guests, probably because we had this fascinating thing to talk about," Evans wrote.
In his memoir, Evans has also shared his first impression of meeting King Charles, noting the monarch's rare ability to truly engage. "Charles makes you feel as if he's genuinely interested in what you have to say, which is remarkable when you consider he has to do this several times a day," Evans wrote.
"You imagine he'd become robotic, just going through the motions every time, but he really seems to engage," he added. Evans also expressed deep pride in being part of 'a fantastic institution.'
For those unaware, long before his conversation with Luke Evans, King Charles had publicly claimed a distant link to Vlad the Impaler during a 2011 TV special focused on forest conservation in Romania. 'The genealogy shows that I am descended from Vlad the Impaler,' he said, adding, 'So I have a bit of a stake in the country.' Luke Evans' memoir Boy from the Valleys, released in the US on April 22.
Through distant royal ancestry, King Charles claims to be descended from Vlad the Impaler, a 15th-century Romanian ruler who inspired the legend of Dracula.
Evans said King Charles was genuinely engaged in conversation.
The memoir is titled Boy from the Valleys: My Unexpected Journey.
