Robert Pattinson shot to fame playing vampire Edward Cullen in 'Twilight,' and now genealogists are claiming the star is a distant relative of Vlad the Impaler, widely believed to have inspired the fanged title character in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
The Associated Press says researchers at Ancestry.com have connected Pattinson and the Transylvanian ruler through their relationship to the British royal family; the site claims Pattinson is a distant cousin of Princes Harry and William, who are distant nephews of Vlad the Impaler.
"Tracing Pattinson's family back to Vlad was difficult research, but the pieces that unraveled created the perfect accompaniment to 'The Twilight Saga,'" said Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com. "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."
Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is also connected to "Dracula" through the princes' ancestry, the AP reports.
Catch 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' in theaters June 30.
