Robert Pattinson related to Vlad the Impaler

Twilight star Robert Pattinson is a distant relative of Vlad the Impaler according to genealogists at Ancestry.co.uk.

Vlad III was the Romanian sovereign during the 15th century and was famous throughout his kingdom for torturing dissenters and driving stakes through the hearts of his enemies.

Many scholars believe he was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s work Dracula which immortalised his legend through the novel’s leading figure, the Lord of the Undead himself.

Convenient then that Vlad, who in one way inspired the whole vampire craze, should be related to Robert Pattinson who has reinvented the vampire role for the 21st century in the Twilight saga.

Anastasia Tyler, a leading genealogist said: “Tracing Pattinson’s family back to Vlad was difficult research, but the pieces that unraveled created the perfect accompaniment to the Twilight Saga,”

She continued: “Without any myth or magic, we find royalty and vampires lurking in Pattinson’s life – making his story just as supernatural as the one he’s playing on screen.”

No wonder then that R-Patz plays a vampire so well, it’s in his blood.