【1843】英國皇家牌狗糧了解一下？

06-04

5月19日，美國著名演員Meghan Markle和英國王子Harry完婚。在無數人的羨慕與掌聲下，Markle未來的生活可能沒有大多數人想像的那麼美好。這點從Diana王妃的人生經歷中我們便可略知一二。

英國皇家牌狗糧了解一下？

譯者：倪凌暉

校對：唐蕭

策劃：劉璠

本文選自1843| 取經號原創翻譯

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Can Meghan Markle modernise the monarchy?

英國皇家牌狗糧了解一下？

Meghan Markle』s marriage to Prince Harry will make her an A-list star. But her most important role, say Emma Duncan and Valentine Low, will be to bolster the royal family

與英國Harry王子的婚禮，會使美國女演員Meghan Markle一躍成為一線明星。但是，在Emma Duncan和Valentine Low看來，她最重要的職責則在於振興英國皇室。

During the first television interview that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry gave to the press in November 2017, they snuggled together on a sofa with wide smiles, like any loved-up couple. The American actor and British prince disclosed a few quotidian intimacies: they met on a blind date; he proposed to her while they were cooking a chicken; she immediately charmed his grandmother』s corgis, which bark relentlessly at him.

2017年11月，Meghan和Harry首次接受電視採訪。就像一對普通的情侶一樣，他們依偎在一起，笑容滿面。他們透露了一些日常的親密細節：他們是相親認識的；王子向她求婚時他們正在烹飪一隻雞。女皇的柯基們第一次見就很親近她，但是它們卻會沖著王子叫個不停。

How they behaved in the interview revealed more than what they said. Markle clasped Harry』s left hand proprietorially between hers. She appeared natural in front of the camera and spoke fluidly and buoyantly. He, justifiably chary of the press, mumbled and stuttered a bit. As she looked at the interviewer, he gazed at her. While she talked, he stroked her forefinger with his thumb. The balance of their relationship became apparent during the course of the conversation, and has been confirmed subsequently in their increasingly frequent public appearances around Britain. He watches her constantly, both in adoration and in search of approbation. Harry is the lover and she the loved.

他們在電視鏡頭前的行為舉止要比他們說的透露出更多。Markle的兩手緊緊地握著Harry的左手，像是在宣布所有權。她在鏡頭面前也表現得極為自然，說話流暢且愉悅。Harry則對媒體有些警惕感，這情有可原。他說話有點聽不清，甚至有些許口吃。當Markle看著採訪者時，Harry就在一旁看著她。當她說話時，他就用拇指輕撫著她的食指。在談話中，他們戀情的平衡性顯而易見。這點在他們越來越頻繁的公眾亮相中就能看出。他一直看著她，充滿著愛意，眼神中好像是在尋求她的讚許。在他們的關係中，Harry是給予愛的那個，而Markle則是被愛的那個。

On May 19th, the pair will wed at Windsor Castle. In doing so, Markle will not just cement her position as one of the most famous women in the world. She will also join an institution that holds an enduring global appeal and has survived against the odds into the democratic age – and which, as the 92-year-old Queen ages, is undergoing a destabilising transition.

5月19日，這對璧人將會在溫莎城堡完婚。婚禮不僅會鞏固Markel作為世界知名女性的地位，還會使她成為英國皇室的一員。英國皇室一直以來都被全球人民所關注，它歷經風雨，一直延續到了民主年代。如今，英國女皇已經是92歲的高齡，皇室的地位也漸漸開始動搖。

As Harry and Markle have toured Britain hand in hand, they have done a good job thus far of looking like ordinary people preparing to tiethe knot. Their TV interview certainly presented a sharp contrast with Harry』s parents』 painfully awkward first presentation to the press, at which Diana looked intermittently flirtatious and miserable, and Charles made a terrible, revealing gaffe when asked whether they were in love: she said 「of course」; he said 「whatever 『in love』 means」.

當Harry和Markel手牽著手在英國四處亮相時，他們出色地完成了一項作為皇室成員的工作：他們的一舉一動看起來就像是一對普通的情侶在準備結婚一樣。他們的第一次電視採訪和Harry父母當年那場無比尷尬的採訪形成了鮮明的對比。當年，Diana王妃時而表現得有些輕浮，時而又表現得有些許抑鬱。而Charles王子則表現的非常糟糕，當被問及他們是否相愛時，他的回答甚至有些失態。Diana回答說：「我們當然相愛。」Charles則說：「隨你怎麼定義相愛。」

tie the knot結婚
flirtatious/fl?:?te???s; NAmE fl?:r?t- / (also informal flirty) adj.behaving in a way that shows a sexual attraction to sb that is not serious 賣弄風情的；打情罵俏的

Yet there is nothing very ordinary about Harry and Markle. Both have unusual – though quite different – backgrounds. Both have had the extraordinary experience of living life under the spotlight of fame: he as a prince, she as a now-famous actor. And both have struggled against society』s expectations of the roles they should play.

但是，Harry和Markel絕對不是普通人，他們一個是王子，一個是明星，雖然背景不同，但都非比尋常，都在聚光燈下生活。他們也都在竭力地與公眾給他們的人設劃清界限。

If Harry needs a strong, supportive wife, then Markle may be just the woman for him. But wedding a Windsor is a little more complicated than that. She isn』t just marrying a man, she』s marrying an institution with a tumultuous past and an uncertain future. Part of her job will be to help sustain it.

如果Harry需要一個堅強的賢內助的話，那Markl可能就是他的真命天女。但是，嫁給一個皇室成員可要複雜的多。她不只是嫁給了一個男人，而是嫁給了整個皇室。現在的英國皇室不但有著一段動蕩不安的歷史，而且前途也猶未可知。為皇室保駕護航將是Markle工作的一部分。

In business since Egbert of Wessex became King of England in 827, the British monarchy has – aside from a brief hiatus in the mid-17th century – proved itself remarkably durable. But in the past 100 years, it has been rocked twice, both times by a marriage. The first was the abdication crisis of 1936 when Edward VIII renounced the throne to wed Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. The second was caused by the death of Diana in 1997.

自從愛格伯特在公元827年成為英格蘭王國的第一任君主以來，英國皇室除了在17世紀中葉有過短暫的中斷，一直傳承至今，從未間斷。但是，在過去一百年中，英國皇室已經經歷過兩次重大動蕩，而且每次都是由婚姻引起的。第一次是在1936年，Edward八世為了和美國離婚婦女華萊士·華菲爾德·辛普森結婚而陷入政治危機，最終選擇退位。另一次則是因為1997年Diana王妃的死。

譯者註：在17世紀，查理一世上了斷頭台，皇室中斷，繼之而來的是克倫威爾的獨裁統治，後來流亡法國的查理二世復辟。所以這一段中會說「在17世紀中葉皇室有過短暫的中斷」。

After the princess』s fatal car crash, popular anger turned on her adulterous husband, Charles, who had never stopped loving his old flame Camilla Parker Bowles, and on the Queen, whose remoteness towards Diana in her lifetime seemed to be confirmed by her decision to stay cocooned at Balmoral, her Scottish castle. The Queen』s failure to grieve publicly contrasted with the mountains of flowers deposited by tearful strangers outside Kensington Palace and the million-or-so people who lined the streets to pay their respects to Diana』s funeral cortège. As the country』s stiff upper lip wobbled, so too did support for the monarchy. For the first time since the abdication crisis, the institution looked seriously shaky.

Diana王妃死於車禍後，公眾將憤怒撒在了她婚內通姦的丈夫的頭上：Charles一直都愛著他的舊愛Camilla Parker Bowles。另外，公眾對女皇也很生氣，因為她一直對Diana避而遠之。這點從她決定住在與世隔絕的巴爾莫勒爾堡就能看出。女皇對Diana王妃死亡的冷淡與公眾對她的哀悼形成了鮮明對比。肯辛頓王宮外，無數的陌生人流著淚，為Diana留下了哀悼的鮮花。一百多萬人站在街邊向著Diana的送葬車隊哀悼。面對Diana的死亡，原本堅定沉著的英國人都開始動搖了，同時動搖的是他們對皇室的支持。自Edward八世退位危機以來，英國皇室第一次陷入這樣危難的處境。

old flamenoun a former lover 舊情人
keep a stiff upper lip堅定不移；堅強不屈；堅定沉著；咬緊牙根
monarchy/?m?n?ki; NAmE ?mɑ:n?rki / noun (pl. -ies)the monarchy [sing.] a system of government by a king or a queen 君主制；君主政體

The shadow Diana still casts partly explains why her sons are considerably more popular than their father. In the public mind, Charles is still damaged by Diana』s barely veiled claim in a television interview that he was cheating on her: 「There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.」 Her death condemned him for ever to the role of unfaithful husband to the nation』s beautiful young princess. The light from her halo, meanwhile, still envelops her sons, who are loved for her, and for the suffering her death caused them.

時至今日，Diana的事依然在公眾心中揮之不去。這也是為什麼她的孩子們要比他們的父親更受公眾歡迎的部分原因。當年Diana在電視採訪中含蓄地表示Charles婚內出軌的那段話，可能仍然留在公眾的腦海中。「這段婚姻里有三個人，所以有點擠。」Diana的死給Charles的形象永久地定了性：他就是那個給美麗的英國王妃帶綠帽子的男人。與此同時，Diana的光環依舊籠罩在她兒子們的身上。公眾愛戴他們，是因為愛屋及烏，也是因為同情他們在那麼小的年齡就要忍受失去母親的痛苦。

Adjusting to married life is difficult for any new spouse but – as Diana found, and Markle is no doubt discovering – adjusting to the royal household adds another level of complexity. 「Planet Mars」, as an insider calls it, is effectively a feudal operation run by a 92-year-old. There is a hierarchy that determines who enters a room first and who sits where, at private as well as public events. The pecking order changes only with the sovereign』s blessing.

對於任何一個剛剛結婚的人來說，適應婚後生活都是不容易的。但就像Diana當年經歷那樣，要去適應皇室的婚後生活更是難上加難。這點恐怕Markle也會很快體會到。就像一個內部人士說的那樣，皇室就好比是「火星」，是一個由92歲老太太管理的封建機構。在那裡，無論在公眾場合還是在私底下，各人進屋的順序和坐次都要按照等級制度來。只有當君主同意時，這種等級制度才能改變。

hierarchy/?ha??rɑ:ki; NAmE -rɑ:rki / noun (pl. -ies) [C, U] a system, especially in a society or an organization, in which people are organized into different levels of importance from highest to lowest 等級制度（尤指社會或組織）
pecking order啄序; 長幼尊卑制度, 權勢等級
sovereign/?s?vr?n; NAmE ?sɑ:vr?n / noun (formal) a king or queen 君主；元首

Yet, as the royal soap opera continues to unfold, Markle brings huge strengths that could help shore up the monarchy, especially among the young who tend to be indifferent to the institution. She has a background and an experience of life that should help bind the royal family to its subjects, and a genuine, unfakeable passion for the causes she espouses. If she is allowed to be herself – the small girl who stamped her foot at sexism 25 years ago – the British people are likely to grow even more affectionate towards her. That will be valuable to the monarchy, for it will need all the goodwill it can muster in the uncertain years ahead.

但是，隨著這一部皇家肥皂劇漸漸上演，Markle為重振皇室提供了巨大助力，尤其能夠在那些對皇室較為冷漠的年輕人中引起火花。她的背景和經歷可以幫助皇室與它的子民重新聯繫在一起。另外，她還對自己追求的事業抱有真誠的熱情。如果皇室能夠允許她做真實的自己，做那個能夠在25年前就開始抵制性別歧視的小女孩，那英國群眾很可能會更加愛戴她。這對現在的英國皇室來說是非常寶貴的，因為在未可知的未來，皇室需要調動一切可以調動的力量，來贏得民眾的愛戴。

sexism/?seks?z?m/ noun [U] the unfair treatment of people, especially women, because of their sex; the attitude that causes this （尤指對女性的）性別歧視，性別偏見
affectionate/??fek??n?t/ adj. showing caring feelings and love for sb 表示關愛的 SYNLOVING