Prince Charles could finally become king... of ROMANIA, thanks to his ancestor Vlad the Impaler
- European newspapers claim Charles could be anointed should monarchy be restored
 
- Prince of Wales's ancestral links with Vlad the Impaler and King Michael cited as reasons
 
- Charles is passionate about the country and owns a holiday home in picturesque town of Viscri
 
He is already the longest serving heir apparent in British history. 
So  if Prince Charles ever gets too bored of waiting to accede to the  throne, then he might just be tempted to have himself crowned King Carol  111 instead.
Central  European newspapers yesterday were alight with speculation that the  Prince of Wales could be anointed the next King of Romania if the  country’s monarchy is restored.
Related: Speculation has mounted that Prince  Charles could be crowned king of Romania after he revealed in a recent  interview that he is related to bloodthirsty Romanian ruler Vlad the  Impaler
 The last royal ruler, King Michael – who reigned from 1927 to 1930, and again from 1940 to 1947 - was forced to  abdicate by the country’s new Communist leaders, who threatened to carry out mass executions if he refused to step down.
Romania went on to endure decades of communist government, most notably under  dictatorial party leader Nicolae Ceausescu who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1965 until he was deposed and executed in 1989.
Admittedly, it is unlikely that he  will ever be a serious contender for the throne as the deposed King,  Prince Michael, is still alive – albeit rather elderly at 90 – and has  family of his own.
Despite the reintroduction of democracy, in recent years there have been increasing calls for the monarchy to be restored. 
And  after he revealed in an interview just a few weeks ago that he is  related to historical Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler – the bloodthirsty  nobleman who inspired Dracula – Charles’s name has now, bizarrely, been  thrown into the ring.
 
Connections: Prince Charles further cemented his  links with Romania when he held a private meeting with Romanian tourism  minister Elena Uldrea at Clarence House last week
 But  local newspapers have taken great pains to point out that as well as his ‘stake’ in the throne through his ancestor Vlad, Prince Charles’s  mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is also third cousin to the deposed King  whose great-great-grandmother was Queen Victoria.
The rumour mill went into further overdrive when the country’s powerful  tourism and development minister, Elena Udrea, flew to London last week  to meet with Charles at Clarence House.
The meeting was not publicised in  advance, although pictures were subsequently released, and the glamorous Udrea subsequently spoke of her host in glowing terms and said  Romanians should be more like Charles and ‘appreciate the country they  live in’. 
Links: Queen Elizabeth met Romanian President  Ion Iliescu, at Buckingham Palace in 2004 (left) - but her ties with the  monarchy are stronger - she is third cousin to Romania's King Michael  (right) who reigned from 1927 to 1930 and again from 1940 to 1947 - but  was forced to abdicate by the country's new Communist leaders
 Newspapers have  even gone so far as to speculate that Charles could give up the British  throne in favour of his popular eldest son and heir, Prince William, to  become the next King of Romania instead.
They say the suggestion has such currency it is the reason its rattled  president, Traian Băsescu, has launched a series of attacks on the  former King Michael and the monarchy in general.
 
Iron fist: Romania endured decades of communist  government, most notably under Nicolae Ceausescu who ruled from 1965  until he was deposed and executed in 1989
 Intriguingly Charles is incredibly passionate about Romania. Indeed, he loves the area around the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania so much that  he has bought a holiday home in the region and recently said in an  interview: ‘The genealogy shows I am descended from Vlad the Impaler, so I do have a bit of a stake in the country.’
Charles secretly bought the simple,  white-washed property in the heritage site of Viscri in 2005 with the  help of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, a British-based charity which works to preserve Romania's historic Saxon villages from destruction, of which  he is patron. 
He paid £18,000 for the three-bedroomed, 18th Century farmhouse.
Viscri  lies in a picturesque valley in the heart of Transylvania, north-west  of Brasov, and is comprised of men and women of mainly of Romanian and  gypsy origin. 
It has already won many of  Europe's highest awards for cultural restoration and economic regeneration.
Charles has visited the village  several times and is so taken with the simplicity of local life that he  holidays there each summer.
He and his security team sleep in the traditional white-washed village  house - complete with wooden truckle beds and outside toilets - and  drink locally-pressed organic apple juice.
The house is rented out to overseas tourists when the prince is not in residence. 
Clarence House last night confirmed the  prince had a meeting with the Romanian minister but declined to be drawn on the nature of their conversations. 
A spokesman did, however, say the  prince was very fond of the country and pointed out that he already  owned properties in the region.
But senior royal sources have dismissed the speculation as ‘ridiculous’.
 
Passionate: Charles paid £18,000 for this  property in the heritage site of Viscri in 2005, and has since holidayed  there every year