Prince Charles on private visit to Transylvania

Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Britain's Prince Charles is relaxing in one of his favorite places, Transylvania, immediately after celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

Charles arrived for a private visit Wednesday in Targu Mures, a town in the heart of Transylvania, about 100 miles (160kilometers) south of where Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula" is set. Stoker based Dracula on Vlad the Impaler, whom Charles calls a distant relative.

Images were broadcast Thursday of Charles waving to locals in the picturesque village of Miclosoara, where he sometimes stays. Locals said that Charles was looking for some down time after the Jubilee festivities in Britain. The prince owns property and supports traditional farming methods in Transylvania, which he calls "the jewel in Romania's crown." His son Prince Harry spent Easter in Transylvania.