凱特王妃再產一子,英國王室迎第五順位繼承人

LONDON — Britain’s international image may have taken a beating over the past year, as the country proceeds with its stuttering exit from the European Union known as Brexit, but its unique asset was on full display Monday.

倫敦——在過去一年中，隨着繼續推進磕磕絆絆的“退歐”進程，英國的國際形象或許受損，但該國獨特的優勢週一得到了淋漓盡致的展現。

The royal family just keeps on delivering.

王室又傳來添丁消息。

At 11:01 a.m., Kate, the duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to an 8-pound, 7-ounce boy, the third child for her and Prince William. William was present in the delivery room, and he later jumped in a sport utility vehicle and ferried his two younger children to the hospital to meet their newborn brother.

上午11時01分，劍橋公爵夫人誕下了一名8磅7盎司（約合3.8公斤）重的男孩，這是她與威廉王子(Prince William)的第三個孩子。威廉一開始在產房內，後來跳上了一輛SUV，將兩個小孩送到醫院，見他們新生出來的弟弟。

The news radiated out of the Lindo Ward and down South Wharf Road, where a cheerful, punchy crowd had swelled over the course of the day. A man dressed as a town crier, in knee breeches and a tricorn hat, appeared on the hospital steps, ringing a very large handbell.

消息從聖瑪麗醫院林多婦產中心及南沃爾夫街傳了出來，當天，一羣興高采烈的民衆在這裏聚集。一名男子扮成了公告傳報員的樣子，穿着齊膝短褲、戴着三角帽，出現在了醫院大門前的臺階上，不停搖着一個巨大的手搖鈴。

“Oyez, oyez, oyez, we’ve got a royal baby, a prince!” he bellowed, and a small knot of royalists posted across the road, drinking sparkling wine out of plastic cups, responded in kind: “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! It’s a boy, born on St. George’s Day!”

“肅靜、肅靜、肅靜，我們有了一個王室寶寶，一名王子！”他喊道。還有一小羣保皇主義者在街對面用塑料杯喝着起泡酒，用“啦啦啦萬歲！啦啦啦萬歲！是個男孩，生於聖喬治節！”迴應道。

It was testament to the enduring fascination with Britain’s royal family, invigorated in recent months by the pregnancy of the duchess and by the coming wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, an American actress.

這是公衆對英國王室持久興趣的明證，在近幾個月，這種興趣因公爵夫人的懷孕及即將到來的哈里王子(Prince Harry)與美國女演員梅根·馬克爾(Meghan Markle)的婚禮而大增。

“What this does for us as a country, the monarchy, this will push us through Brexit,” said Darren French, who had come out of a hospital ward, wearing slippers and flapping cotton pajamas, to watch the spectacle. A black cab was slowly circling the block, with a wax figure of Queen Elizabeth II seated in the back.

“這件事爲我們國家，爲這個君主制能做什麼，它能推動我們完成‘退歐’”，達倫·弗蘭奇(Darren French)說。爲了觀看這場壯觀場面，他剛剛從醫院病房出來，穿着拖鞋和下垂的棉睡衣。一輛黑色出租車緩慢地來回在這個街區兜圈，車後座上放着女王伊麗莎白二世的蠟像。

“A lot of countries respect our monarchy,” French added. “It makes us look solid. It makes us look staunch.”

“許多國家都尊重我們的君主制，”弗蘭奇補充道。“這讓我們看起來穩固。讓我們看起來堅定。”

Representatives of betting houses had been out on the sidewalk since morning with chalkboards, updating the odds on possible names for the baby. (Arthur led the male names, with 2-1 odds, and Alice led the girls’ names, 5-1.)

帶着黑板的博彩公司代表一早就來到了人行道上，更新着嬰兒可能取的名字賠率。（男子名中，亞瑟[Arthur]以2比1的賠率領先；女子名中，愛麗絲[Alice]以5比1的賠率領先。）

The baby’s birth came a week before Kate and William’s seventh wedding anniversary and, perhaps more important in the eyes of the English news media and public, occurred on St. George’s Day, named after England’s patron saint.

嬰兒的誕生是在凱特和威廉結婚七週年紀念日的一個星期之前，而在英國的新聞媒體和公衆眼中，更爲重要的或許是他出生在得名於英國守護聖人的聖喬治日。

The couple’s first child, George, was born on July 22, 2013, and their second, Charlotte, on May 2, 2015.

這對夫妻的第一個孩子喬治，出生於2013年6月22日；第二個孩子夏洛特，出生於2015年5月2日。

The new child will be fifth in line for the throne, following Prince Charles, William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and before Harry. Changes to the Succession to the Crown Act in 2013 removed male bias, meaning that Charlotte is the first girl to go before her younger brother in the royal line of succession.

這個新生兒將在王位繼承人中排第五順位，位列查爾斯王子、威廉、喬治王子、夏洛特公主之後，哈里王子之前。2013年，王位繼承法案的修改廢除了男性偏見，這意味着夏洛特成了王室繼承序列中第一個排在弟弟前面的女孩。

Kate gave birth in a familiar setting: the Lindo Wing is where Charlotte, George and several other members of the royal family were born. Its website notes, “Discretion is key to our service, and we will ensure that you have the space, security and privacy you need to enjoy these precious early moments as a family.”

凱特是在一個熟悉的環境中生產的：夏洛特、喬治和其他幾名王室成員出生的林多。它們的網站寫着：“謹慎是我們服務的關鍵，我們確保您擁有您所需的空間、安全和隱私來享受寶貴的家庭早期時光。”

Despite that promise, the street outside was mobbed with journalists, who were sorted by caste. The royal press corps, from major British outlets, had their own enclosure. They were dressed in trench coats and handsome suits, like intelligence agents. Farther down the road was the enclosure for unaccredited journalists, who were broadcasting live in a variety of Eastern European languages, and searching for nonjournalists to interview.

儘管有着這樣的承諾，但外面的街道上還是圍滿了按各自地位扎堆的記者。來自英國主要媒體的王室記者團有自己的領地，像情報特工一樣穿着風衣和利落的西裝。更遠的地方是未經授權的記者的地盤，他們用各式的東歐語言做着現場直播，尋找着不是記者的人進行採訪。

Among the rubberneckers were a large number of visitors from other monarchies.

在看熱鬧的人羣中，有許多來自其他君主制國家的遊客。

Bushra Siddiqui, 42, who was there on her lunch break, said she admired the British royals for their accessibility. In Saudi Arabia, where she was born, the royal families live in total separation from the general public.

42歲的布什拉·西迪基(Bushra Siddiqui)利用午餐休息時間來到這裏，她表示自己喜愛英國王室的平易近人。在她出生的沙特阿拉伯，王室的生活完全與大衆隔離。

“We don’t find out when their babies are born,” she said. “We don’t know how many kids they have. We don’t know how many wives they have.”

“我們不知道他們的孩子什麼時候出生，”她說。“我們不知道他們有幾個孩子。我們不知道他們有幾個老婆。”

But Yasin Ozyaprak, 21, from the Netherlands, said he liked the British royal family for the opposite reason, complaining that the Dutch royals are now so accessible that they have lost their mystique.

但來自荷蘭的21歲的亞辛·奧茲雅普拉科(Yasin Ozyaprak)說，他喜歡英國王室的原因恰恰相反，他抱怨，荷蘭的王室現在太容易接近了，都失去了神祕感。

“I like the distance,” he said. “When the Dutch princesses go to school, they just ride bikes. If you see the king, you just go up and speak to him.”

“我喜歡有點距離，”他說。“荷蘭公主去上學時，她們就騎輛自行車。如果看到了國王，你可以直接走上去和他說話。”