【聚焦】走近英國王室(British royal family)

06-19

5月2日，英國王室再添新丁，迅速成為全球各大媒體關注的熱點，有關王室的報道持續升溫。英國王室是世界上最古老和最著名的王室之一，當今的英國王室雖然並無實權，但對英國社會卻有著廣泛的影響，王室成員的動態一直是世人矚目的焦點。本期內容帶您一起探訪英國王室。[歷久彌新的千年王室]如今的英國王室，又稱溫莎王室，其實是一支有著逾千年歷史之久的王族的後裔。溫莎王朝始於1917年，國王喬治五世的一紙宣言將英王室的正式名稱定為溫莎王室，擯棄了薩克森-科堡-哥達王室這一歷史稱呼。現女王伊麗莎白二世是英國溫莎王朝第四代君主。The current British royal family, while referred to as the House of Windsor, is actually the latest part of a line of royal monarchs going back over a thousand years. The House of Windsor came into being in 1917, when the name was adopted as the British Royal Family"s official name by a proclamation of King George V, replacing the historic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Queen Elizabeth II is the 4th monarch of the House of Windsor.

在許多英國人的眼中，王室代表著穩定、延續、遺產與傳統。不過王室在過去25年中也在不斷努力跟上現代化的步伐，避免成為不合時代的事物。其重大舉措包括：減少享受公家俸祿的成員數量，自願繳納所得稅，擯棄皇家遊艇，與平民通婚，使用社交媒體，廢除王位繼承順序的男性優先權等。In the eyes of many Brits, the royal family stands for stability, continuity, heritage and traditions. But the royal family has made strenuous efforts to modernize itself to avoid becoming an anachronism in the past 25 years or so. They have reduced the number of members on the public payroll, volunteered to pay income tax, dispensed with the royal yacht, married commoners, used social media, and abolished male precedence in the order of succession to the throne.[王室成員熱心公益事業]當代王室成員的一項重要工作是支持和鼓勵公益與志願服務。王室成員是約3000個組織的贊助人或負責人，其中女王贊助了600餘個組織，愛丁堡公爵的贊助數量超過700，威爾士親王贊助或擔任主席職務的慈善組織有400多家。An important part of the work of the royal family is to support and encourage public and voluntary service. About 3,000 organizations list a member of the royal family as patron or president. The Queen has over 600 patronages and the Duke of Edinburgh over 700. The Prince of Wales is patron or president of over 400 charitable organizations.[英國王室的金字招牌]我們不是王室，我們是一家企業。——喬治六世國王，《國王的演講》"We"re Not a Family, We"re a Firm." –George VI, The King"s Speech資產評估機構品牌金融稱王室是英國最有價值的品牌之一，其運作方式像企業一樣專業。王室今年預計將為英國經濟貢獻19億英鎊，而王室的花銷是2.5億英鎊。Asset valuation agency Brand Finance said the monarchy was one of Britain"s most valuable brands, run professionally like a firm and set to contribute an estimated ￡1.9b to the British economy this year while costing ￡250m.自古以來，英國的遺產和文化都與王室緊密相關，是吸引遊客來英旅遊的主要因素。倫敦主要的景點都屬於王室，有的還躋身最吸引外國遊客的10大景點，如塔橋(第2位)、白金漢宮(第4位)、溫莎城堡(第7位)和愛丁堡城堡(第8位)。王室成員參與的各種典禮活動得到英聯邦乃至世界的媒體關注，相當於為英國進行了價值數億英鎊的免費公關活動。The heritage and culture of the UK is historically entwined with the monarchy and is a major incentive for tourists to visit the country. The main attractions in London belong to the monarchy. Among the Top 10 attractions for foreign tourists: the Tower Bridge (2nd place), Buckingham Palace (4th place), Windsor Castle (7th place), Edinburgh Castle (8th place). The various ceremonies and events attended by the royal family generate media attention from the Commonwealth and round the world, providing hundreds of millions of pounds worth of free publicity for the UK.每次英國經濟出現衰退時，英國王室都通過舉辦大型皇家慶典活動，充當"救火隊員"的角色。當年黛安娜王妃的世紀婚禮轟動全球，同時也讓英國賺得盆滿缽溢；2011年威廉王子和凱特王妃的大婚相當於給英國經濟注入約20億英鎊；2012年英國女王登基60周年慶典又給英國帶來5億英鎊的創收；而"王室寶寶"的降生為經濟帶來的刺激也不容小覷，英國零售研究中心稱，2013年王室寶寶的誕生使英國相關產業7-8月的零售額增長2.43億英鎊。By holding grand royal ceremonies, the royal family has been the salvation of the British economy when there is a recession. Called the "wedding of the century," the wedding of Diana to Charles received global attention and also generated a huge economic benefit for the country. The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011 provided an approximately ￡2b shot in the arm for Britain"s economy while the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for the Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 brought ￡500m for the country. The Centre of Retail Research said that the royal baby"s birth in 2013 boosted linked-in retail sales in the UK by ￡243m in July and August.

[跌宕起伏的王室形象]上世紀末，以伊麗莎白女王二世為核心的現英國王室因冷對戴妃逝世，威望跌落谷底。此後十幾年來，王室通過種種變革逐步挽回形象，前年威廉王子大婚與去年女王登基60周年大大提升了王室威望，而王室寶寶的降生更是引發了新一輪王室熱潮。At the end of the 20th century, the popularity of the current royal family, headed by Queen Elizabeth II, fell to its lowest point after Diana"s death for its coldness and remoteness. The royal family gradually rejuvenated its image by reforming itself in the last dozen years or so. The wedding of William and Kate in 2011 and the Queen"s Diamond Jubilee last year pushed the support of the monarchy to new highs. The royal baby has triggered the next wave of enthusiasm for the monarchy.*聚焦凱特和小公主*據英國《每日郵報》5月2日報道，英國劍橋公爵夫人凱特王妃在生產完公主不到10個小時後，也就是當地時間2日下午6點，抱著小公主與劍橋公爵威廉王子一同離開位於西倫敦的聖瑪麗醫院。候在醫院外的媒體和民眾藉此機會目睹了這位英國王室新成員的風采。

小公主裹在白色的毯子里，全程閉著眼睛，似乎在媽媽的懷裡安靜地睡覺。凱特穿著白底印黃色小花的連衣裙，精神看上去相當不錯。她與威廉一同離開醫院時在門前站了一會，向等候的民眾和媒體人揮手問好。

當天下午，21個月的喬治小王子也抵達醫院看望剛出生的小妹妹，這是他自出生後第一次在公眾場合露面。

在凱特王妃抵達醫院不到3個小時後，即當地時間2日8點34分，小公主出生，體重8磅3盎司（約3.7公斤）。目前外界還不清楚她的名字。這名小公主是英國王室順位第四位繼承人，排在其爺爺查爾斯王儲、父親威廉王子和哥哥喬治王子之後。微信用戶如何查閱及分享點擊右上角→發送給朋友點擊右上角→分享到朋友圈或騰訊微博點擊右上角→複製鏈接，可發送到電腦上查看如何訂閱中國日報網雙語新聞微信添加朋友→查找微信公眾賬號：中國日報網雙語新聞添加朋友→搜號碼：Chinadaily_Mobile點擊右上角→查看公共賬號→添加關注