英國王室賣貨補貼“家用”，一雙襪子售價69英鎊
即使是英國女王也未能逃脫新冠肺炎疫情而導致的經濟損失。但現在女王希望通過在網上出售襪子來填補王室6400萬英鎊的財政損失。
The new items on offer at the Royal Collection store come with hefty price tags, however, with the socks priced at £69 a pair.
然而，皇家收藏商店所出售的新產品標價很高，襪子的價格是69英鎊（約合人民幣610元）一雙。
The website gushes: ‘Lovingly crafted and 100 percent cashmere, these luxurious bedtime socks are sumptuously soft and the perfect present.’
該網站宣稱：“這雙奢華的睡襪做工精美，100%山羊絨，質地柔軟，是送禮的最佳選擇。”
And just in case the cable-knit socks, available in silver and ‘natural’ colors, are not warming enough, there are matching hot-water bottle covers, a snip at £115 – although that does include the rubber bottle itself.
如果銀色和原色的扭繩花紋襪子不夠保暖，還有配套的熱水袋套，售價115英鎊（約合人民幣1017元），而這個價格也包括了橡膠水袋。
In contrast, the George at Asda version is just £5.
相比之下，阿斯達超市喬治牌同款產品只需要5英鎊（約合人民幣44元）。
With Royal palaces closed to visitors because of the pandemic, the Royal Collection’s online shop is the only way it can sell souvenirs – although those looking for cheap trinkets are likely to baulk at the eye-watering prices.
英國王室宮殿因疫情而對遊客關閉，皇家收藏網上商店是出售紀念品的唯一途徑——儘管那些想要購買廉價小飾品的人可能會因高昂的價格望而卻步。
For instance, the Buckingham Palace Candle, noted for its ‘refreshing scent of delicate jasmine’ and whose design is said to be ‘inspired by the geometric planting of gardens of the French renaissance’, costs £115.
例如，白金漢宮蠟燭以其“清香的茉莉花香”而聞名，據說其設計“靈感來自法國文藝復興時期花園呈幾何分佈的種植”，售價115英鎊（約合人民幣1017元）。
Among the cheaper items are a £12.95 Buckingham Palace ‘dog bandana’, and a timely range of face masks priced £9.95. Available in yellow, pink or blue, they are printed with a design inspired by a partridge eye pattern that features on an 18th Century porcelain collection amassed mostly by the extravagant George IV.
比較便宜的商品有12.95英鎊（約合人民幣115元）的白金漢宮“小狗圍巾”，以及一系列售價9.95英鎊（約合人民幣88元）的口罩。有黃色、粉色或藍色可選，印花設計的靈感來自於一種鷓鴣眼圖案，這種圖案是18世紀瓷器收藏的特色，這些瓷器大多是由奢侈的喬治四世收藏的。
The masks were unveiled last November, just days after the Queen was pictured in a face covering for the first time, when she visited the grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey to mark the centenary of his burial.
這些口罩是2020年11月上架的，就在開售前幾天，女王第一次被拍到戴着這款口罩，當時她正在威斯敏斯特教堂參加無名戰士墓的百年紀念活動。
Sales will boost the coffers of The Royal Collection Trust, the charity responsible for maintaining the artwork and furniture the Queen holds in trust for her heirs and the nation.
這些商品的銷量將增加皇家收藏信託基金會的資金，該基金會負責維護女王爲其繼承人和國家託管的藝術品和傢俱。
Its finances have been severely hit by the pandemic, with its latest annual report predicting a devastating £64 million drop in income by the end of the financial year.
該公司的財務狀況受到疫情的嚴重打擊，其最新年度報告預測，到本財年末，公司的收入將大幅減少6400萬英鎊（約合人民幣5.67億元）。
It has secured an emergency loan of £22 million from Royal bankers Coutts but has warned that ‘significant’ cuts will be needed to balance the books.
它已經從皇家銀行那裏獲得了2200萬英鎊（約合人民幣1.95億元）的緊急貸款，但被警告其需要大幅削減開支，以平衡賬目。
