國際時事:凱特王妃產下男嬰 成王室第三繼承人

Britain's royal baby and third in line to the throne arrived here late Monday afternoon as the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a son whose debut on the world stage offered a fitting preview of his coming life as a global celebrity.

英國王室寶寶、王位的第三順位繼承人週一下午降生。劍橋公爵夫人(Duchess of Cambridge)生下一名男嬰，這個寶寶在世界舞臺上第一次亮相就恰到好處地預演了他身爲全球名人的未來生活。

The 8-pound, 6-ounce boy─no name disclosed─was born to the duchess and her husband, Prince William, at 4:24 p.m. at St. Mary's Hospital. But the birth wasn't announced until 8:31 p.m., perfectly in the heart of television prime time, right on deadline for the country's national newspapers and just before sundown on Britain's hottest day in years.

英國王室家譜這個重8磅6盎司（約3.8公斤）的寶寶於週一下午4點24分在聖瑪麗醫院(St. Mary’s Hospital)出生，他的父母是威廉王子(Prince William)和劍橋公爵夫人。這名新生兒的姓名尚未宣佈。王室直到晚上8點31分才宣佈他出生的消息，這個時間是電視臺黃金時段的中心，正好趕上英國各大報紙的截稿期限，同時也剛好是英國一年中最熱的日子的日落之前。

At Buckingham Palace, where a simple typed birth announcement was placed on an easel for public viewing, a modest crowd quickly mushroomed, with well-wishers pushing and shoving to the front as if at a rock concert.

在白金漢宮，一個架子上貼了一張簡單打印出來的出生通告，供公衆瀏覽。很快就聚集了一小羣人，祝福者推搡着擠到前面，就像是在一場搖滾音樂會上。

'Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24 p.m. today. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well,' read the birth announcement on Buckingham Palace letterhead, which was signed by three members of the medical team that delivered the baby.

用白金漢宮信箋打印的出生通告上寫着，劍橋公爵夫人殿下於今日下午4點24分平安產子。殿下母子平安。通告上有接生醫療團隊的三名成員簽名。

The birth culminates a royal-baby frenzy that began with last year's announcement of the pregnancy by the royal parents─formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and, at 31 years old, the standard-bearers for a younger generation of British royals.

男嬰的降生將王室寶寶熱推向高潮，這股熱潮是從去年凱特王妃和威廉王子宣佈懷孕消息後開始出現的。他們現年都31歲，是英國王室年輕一代的代表。

The new arrival immediately changes the line of succession to the British throne, which has been occupied by the new arrival's 87-year-old great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for more than six decades.

這名新生兒的到來立刻改變了英國王位的繼承順序。60多年來，男嬰的曾祖母，現年87歲的伊莉莎白二世(Queen Elizabeth II)一直擔任英國女王。

As the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the new royal begins life as third in line to the throne─behind only Prince William, who is second in line, and his father, Prince Charles, who is first. Prince William's younger brother, Prince Harry, moves down to fourth.

作爲劍橋公爵夫婦的第一個孩子，這名王室新成員成爲王位第三繼承人。威廉王子和他的父親查爾斯王子(Prince Charles)分別是第二和第一繼承人。威廉王子的弟弟哈里王子(Prince Harry)則降至第四位。

The pregnancy has drawn massive global interest focused on intimate details including the size of the duchess's belly─meticulously chronicled by Britain's paparazzi─ and the mother-to-be's fashion choices. The fevered anticipation intensified as the birth neared, with media crews camped for several weeks at the hospital where the birth was expected.

凱特王妃懷孕期間吸引了全球的廣泛關注。從她肚子的大小（已被英國狗仔隊細緻的記錄下來），到這位準媽媽的時尚選擇都是外界關注的焦點。隨着預產期臨近，這股期待熱潮開始高漲。在預計王室寶寶將誕生的醫院外，媒體記者們已經安營紮寨數週。

The most intense speculation focused on the baby's sex─which the parents chose not to learn─and possible names, on which betting parlors have been taking wagers. The favorite on Monday evening at betting parlor Paddy Power -0.84% PLC was Alexandra, at 11-to-4─now looking like a loser─followed by George at 6-to-1. For now, he can be referred to by his formal name: His Royal Highness the Prince of Cambridge.

外界最爲關注的是寶寶的性別（威廉王子夫婦選擇不提前瞭解這個信息）和可能起什麼名字。有博彩公司圍繞寶寶的名字開出了盤口。博彩公司Paddy Power PLC週一晚間最熱門的押注名字是亞歷山德拉(Alexandra)，賠率11/4；其次是喬治(George)，賠率6/1。目前這名寶寶可以用正式頭銜稱呼：劍橋王子殿下 (His Royal Highness the Prince of Cambridge) 。

After the announcement, Prince William issued a statement declaring that the new parents 'could not be happier.' Prince Charles, who earlier in the day carried on with a planned trip to York, declared he was 'overjoyed' and added: 'Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone's life.' British Prime Minister David Cameron stepped before the microphones at No. 10 Downing St. moments after the announcement to declare it 'an important moment in the life of our nation.'

喜訊公佈後，威廉王子發佈聲明說，初爲父母的他與凱特開心得不得了。週一早些時候按照日程安排前往約克郡的查爾斯王子口，自己欣喜萬分，還說升級成爲祖父母對任何一個人而言都是一輩子中獨一無二的時刻。英國首相卡梅倫(David Cameron)也在官方消息發佈片刻後，於唐寧街10號發表講話，說這是“我們國家歷史上的重要時刻”。

Reaction elsewhere was sometimes beatific. London's St. Paul's Cathedral─scene of Prince Charles' 1981 marriage to Princess Diana─said it would hold a four-hour 'peal' of its bells on Saturday, and issued a prayer for the new baby via its Twitter feed, giving 'joyful thanks for the safe delivery of a Prince.'

其它地方也充滿了歡慶的氣氛。倫敦聖保羅大教堂(St. Paul's Cathedral)說，將於週六鳴鐘四個小時，並通過其推特(Twitter)賬戶爲新生兒祈禱，對王子的平安出世表示感恩。查爾斯王子與戴安娜王妃(Princess Diana)1981年在聖保羅大教堂舉行婚禮。

Fleet Street's approach, meanwhile, was predictably secular. Moments after letting fly with the tweet, '11-year-old child bride explains why she ran away from home,' the Daily Mail's Twitter feed turned on a dime to proclaim: 'It's a boy! #RoyalBaby.'

而正如外界所料，英國報業對此事的態度並不超然。英國《每日郵報》(Daily Mail)先是發了一條推特：11歲的童養媳解釋自己爲何離家出走。隨後該報突然話鋒一轉，發了這樣一條推特：是個男孩！#王室寶寶#。

In the past, the line of succession would have been different for a royal baby girl, as the crown would have passed to an eldest son─only going to a daughter if there were no boys. But under a new law, which applies to any baby born after October 2011, the firstborn child is the heir apparent regardless of gender.

以前，如果英國王室產下女嬰，會有不同的王位繼承順序。也就是說，王位將傳給王室夫婦最年長的兒子，除非他們膝下無子，纔會傳給女兒。但依據新法（適用於2011年10月後出生的任何王室寶寶），他們的第一個孩子即爲法定繼承人，無論男女。

That became moot when a baby boy was born about 10½ hours after the royal couple arrived at the hospital. The palace amended its plan to announce the birth with a simple public posting at Buckingham Palace. Shortly after 8 p.m., hints came that a news release was on the way, which was then followed by the choreographed public notice.

在威廉王子與凱特王妃抵達醫院10個半小時後，一名男嬰出生，有關王位繼承順序的問題變得沒有意義。白金漢宮修改了宣佈王子出生的計劃，只是在宮殿內貼出了一張簡要的公告。當天晚上剛過8點，有跡象顯示王室即將發佈消息，隨後很快便張貼了一份精心設計的公告。

At the palace, the modest crowd quickly swelled to 40 or 50 people deep, with Britons and tourists alike pushing to get closer to the easel carrying the royal notice. Water was eventually offered to the sweaty crowd.

聚集在白金漢宮的一小羣人迅速增至40到50個左右，其中既有英國人，也有遊客。大家你推我擠，都想湊近看看那個貼在架子上的王室公告。工作人員後來向汗流浹背的羣衆提供飲用水。

'Please hurry up, I only have 14% battery life left,' a person was heard to scream.

當時現場可以聽到一人大喊：請快一點，我的電池只剩14%了。

'I felt very frightened,' said Janet Gilder, a self-described royalist from London's Highgate neighborhood who emerged from the scrum perspiring. 'I thought, 'I hope I don't get squashed against the palace gates.''

來自倫敦海格特(Highgate)社區、自稱是英國王室鐵桿粉絲的吉爾德(Janet Gilder)說：我當時嚇壞了，我想自己可不要被壓扁在白金漢宮的門上。

The media crews will now stay at St. Mary's Hospital in wait of the proud parents exiting with their baby. Meanwhile, two hospital workers leaving work around 9 p.m. said they had been in the dark as the crowd outside grew. One got a phone call and found out only then that the baby was a boy. Meanwhile, her colleague said of being so close to the royal birth, 'You're a part of history. I'm really grateful.'

媒體工作人員將守在聖瑪麗醫院，等待這對驕傲的父母帶着孩子露面。此外，週一晚上9點左右下班的兩名醫院工作人員說，外面守候的人羣越聚越多，而自己則完全不知情。其中一個人接到了電話，並在那時才得知凱特誕下的是一名男嬰。她的同事在談到和王室成員誕生離得這麼近時說，能成爲歷史的一部分，對此感激萬分。

The new arrival joins a family that famously has its ups and downs. Prince Charles, 64, has waited decades for a chance to be king, parked in line behind his mother and her historic 61-year reign, which has weathered sweeping social transformation in the U.K., big swings in the family's popularity and the end of Britain's global empire.

這位新生兒加入到一個經歷了大起大落的家庭中。現年64歲的查爾斯王子等待機會成爲國王已等了幾十年，排在前面的是他的母親、在位時間長達61年的伊麗莎白二世。她在位期間，經歷了英國翻天覆地的社會轉型、王室聲望的大起大落以及英國作爲全球帝國的隕落。

But the Queen─whose popularity has been very high in recent years─has recently begun scaling back her vigorous public duties and limiting her long-haul travel, which leaves a potentially greater role for her son and grandchildren.

但這位近年來享有極高民衆支持率的女王前不久開始減少耗費精力的公務活動和長途差旅，她的兒孫因此有空間可以扮演更重要的角色。