国际时事:凯特王妃产下男婴 成王室第三继承人

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.

英国王室宝宝、王位的第三顺位继承人周一下午降生。剑桥公爵夫人(Duchess of Cambridge)生下一名男婴，这个宝宝在世界舞台上第一次亮相就恰到好处地预演了他身为全球名人的未来生活。

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.

英国王室家谱这个重8磅6盎司（约3.8公斤）的宝宝于周一下午4点24分在圣玛丽医院(St. Mary’s Hospital)出生，他的父母是威廉王子(Prince William)和剑桥公爵夫人。这名新生儿的姓名尚未宣布。王室直到晚上8点31分才宣布他出生的消息，这个时间是电视台黄金时段的中心，正好赶上英国各大报纸的截稿期限，同时也刚好是英国一年中最热的日子的日落之前。

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.

在白金汉宫，一个架子上贴了一张简单打印出来的出生通告，供公众浏览。很快就聚集了一小群人，祝福者推搡着挤到前面，就像是在一场摇滚音乐会上。

'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.

用白金汉宫信笺打印的出生通告上写着，剑桥公爵夫人殿下于今日下午4点24分平安产子。殿下母子平安。通告上有接生医疗团队的三名成员签名。

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.

男婴的降生将王室宝宝热推向高潮，这股热潮是从去年凯特王妃和威廉王子宣布怀孕消息后开始出现的。他们现年都31岁，是英国王室年轻一代的代表。

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.

这名新生儿的到来立刻改变了英国王位的继承顺序。60多年来，男婴的曾祖母，现年87岁的伊莉莎白二世(Queen Elizabeth II)一直担任英国女王。

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.

作为剑桥公爵夫妇的第一个孩子，这名王室新成员成为王位第三继承人。威廉王子和他的父亲查尔斯王子(Prince Charles)分别是第二和第一继承人。威廉王子的弟弟哈里王子(Prince Harry)则降至第四位。

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.

凯特王妃怀孕期间吸引了全球的广泛关注。从她肚子的大小（已被英国狗仔队细致的记录下来），到这位准妈妈的时尚选择都是外界关注的焦点。随着预产期临近，这股期待热潮开始高涨。在预计王室宝宝将诞生的医院外，媒体记者们已经安营扎寨数周。

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.

外界最为关注的是宝宝的性别（威廉王子夫妇选择不提前了解这个信息）和可能起什么名字。有博彩公司围绕宝宝的名字开出了盘口。博彩公司Paddy Power PLC周一晚间最热门的押注名字是亚历山德拉(Alexandra)，赔率11/4；其次是乔治(George)，赔率6/1。目前这名宝宝可以用正式头衔称呼：剑桥王子殿下 (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.'

喜讯公布后，威廉王子发布声明说，初为父母的他与凯特开心得不得了。周一早些时候按照日程安排前往约克郡的查尔斯王子口，自己欣喜万分，还说升级成为祖父母对任何一个人而言都是一辈子中独一无二的时刻。英国首相卡梅伦(David Cameron)也在官方消息发布片刻后，于唐宁街10号发表讲话，说这是“我们国家历史上的重要时刻”。

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.'

其它地方也充满了欢庆的气氛。伦敦圣保罗大教堂(St. Paul's Cathedral)说，将于周六鸣钟四个小时，并通过其推特(Twitter)账户为新生儿祈祷，对王子的平安出世表示感恩。查尔斯王子与戴安娜王妃(Princess Diana)1981年在圣保罗大教堂举行婚礼。

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，英国报业对此事的态度并不超然。英国《每日邮报》(Daily Mail)先是发了一条推特：11岁的童养媳解释自己为何离家出走。随后该报突然话锋一转，发了这样一条推特：是个男孩！#王室宝宝#。

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，如果英国王室产下女婴，会有不同的王位继承顺序。也就是说，王位将传给王室夫妇最年长的儿子，除非他们膝下无子，才会传给女儿。但依据新法（适用于2011年10月后出生的任何王室宝宝），他们的第一个孩子即为法定继承人，无论男女。

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.

在威廉王子与凯特王妃抵达医院10个半小时后，一名男婴出生，有关王位继承顺序的问题变得没有意义。白金汉宫修改了宣布王子出生的计划，只是在宫殿内贴出了一张简要的公告。当天晚上刚过8点，有迹象显示王室即将发布消息，随后很快便张贴了一份精心设计的公告。

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.

聚集在白金汉宫的一小群人迅速增至40到50个左右，其中既有英国人，也有游客。大家你推我挤，都想凑近看看那个贴在架子上的王室公告。工作人员后来向汗流浃背的群众提供饮用水。

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

当时现场可以听到一人大喊：请快一点，我的电池只剩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.''

来自伦敦海格特(Highgate)社区、自称是英国王室铁杆粉丝的吉尔德(Janet Gilder)说：我当时吓坏了，我想自己可不要被压扁在白金汉宫的门上。

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.'

媒体工作人员将守在圣玛丽医院，等待这对骄傲的父母带着孩子露面。此外，周一晚上9点左右下班的两名医院工作人员说，外面守候的人群越聚越多，而自己则完全不知情。其中一个人接到了电话，并在那时才得知凯特诞下的是一名男婴。她的同事在谈到和王室成员诞生离得这么近时说，能成为历史的一部分，对此感激万分。

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.

这位新生儿加入到一个经历了大起大落的家庭中。现年64岁的查尔斯王子等待机会成为国王已等了几十年，排在前面的是他的母亲、在位时间长达61年的伊丽莎白二世。她在位期间，经历了英国翻天覆地的社会转型、王室声望的大起大落以及英国作为全球帝国的陨落。

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.

但这位近年来享有极高民众支持率的女王前不久开始减少耗费精力的公务活动和长途差旅，她的儿孙因此有空间可以扮演更重要的角色。