Prince Charles has become a contender for the Romanian political scene

The name of prince Charles has begun to be mentioned together with that of Romania with an increasing frequency, and there is plenty of speculation that he may become an alternative for the domestic political scene. Whereas in the beginning there were plenty of jokes being made about this, what has been happening over the last month makes it look like the matter is becoming increasingly serious. The promotion of Romania as a tourist destination in an extremely generous manner, the visit of Elena Udrea in London, the public thanks given by president Traian Băsescu, are some elements which can't be disregarded.

Yesterday, at the Economist Conferences Bucharest Summit, president Traian Băsescu thanked prince Charles for his support in promoting Romania's tourism: "Another resource which has shown its potential in the 2010-2011 period of economic crisis is tourism -namely the tapping of its potential in that sector. And I want to take this opportunity to thank prince Charles for his help to Romania by promoting its tourist attractions". The Romanian president went on to say: "We are certain that prince Charles and the British royal family will remain Romania's partners in promoting its tourist potential".

Two days ago, British magazine Daily mail published an article about prince Charles, who has been waiting for a long time to become the king of the United Kingdom, ironically advising him to become Romania's king Charles the IIIrd, if Romania were to decide to revert to monarchy. In certain British circles, the joke wasn't viewed as too out of place, as some feel that such a move would be good for Romania and the United Kingdom alike. Last week, the Romanian minister of Regional Development and Tourism, Elena Udrea, met prince Charles, whom she called "a wonderful ambassador of Romanian tourism". Udrea announced the meeting on Facebook, together with three photographs from the meeting. On her blog, the minister wrote: "I had a meeting with his Royal Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales, a great friend to Romania and a wonderful ambassador of Romanian tourism. Prince Charles is definitely a great friend and a true ambassador of Romania, and I can say without any doubt that he did more for Romania's image over the last few years, than any of us did. Immediately after the early viewing of the Wild Carpathia documentary, which moved viewers in Great Britain and in the countries where Travel Channel is being broadcasted, I even said it publicly: if Prince Charles is in love with the Carpathians, why wouldn't we be? Just because some people are trying to build a negative, destructive mood, because they've busied themselves with disinformation and manipulation their entire lives, it doesn't mean that the rest of us should fall into their trap and love our country less!"

Prince Charles owns several properties in Romania, a house in the village of Viscri and two homes in the village of Valea Zălanului, in the county of Covasna, one of them being more than a hundred years old. Over the past years, the heir of the British crown visited the county of Covasna several times in private visits. Whereas about a year ago, the prince was hinting at a potential kinship with Vlad Ţepeş, in a recently broadcasted documentary about the Carpathians, he revealed for the first time that this blood tie is real, through his great-great-grandmother, queen Mary.