英皇后人选引热议 卡梅伦力挺卡米拉

　　The voters might not agree with him, but David Cameron yesterday voiced his support for the Duchess of Cornwall to become Queen. In a highly unusual intervention, the Prime Minister described himself as a ‘big fan’ of Camilla.
　　威廉王子订婚的消息被媒体炒得沸沸扬扬，而未来英国皇后的人选再一次被人们拿来当成茶余饭后的话题。会是饱受争议的卡米拉？还是威廉的未婚妻凯特？我们不得而知。然而，英现任首相卡梅伦把他的一票投给了查尔斯的老婆--卡米拉。

　　He said he believes the public is warming to Prince Charles’s second wife, despite signs that voters would prefer the monarchy to miss a generation and pass directly from the Queen to Prince William. Polls show that the idea of Queen Camilla is less popular now than when she married into the Royal Family five years ago. Less than a third of the public believe Charles should become King, in a sign that they want the monarchy to skip a generation and revitalise itself.

　　卡梅伦承认公众在选择心目中的王后时，心中的天枰会向威廉倾斜、而非他的老爸查尔斯。作为威廉的继母、查尔斯的第二任老婆，卡米拉从正式“走马上任”开始，就面临了诸多的非议。不管卡米拉是否愿意公众将她与逝去的戴安娜王妃做对比，卡米拉如今不得不应付一个“新的对手”--那就是威廉的未婚妻凯特。调查显示，只有不到30%的民众认为查尔斯会继承王位，更多的英国人觉得王位的继承会“越过”查尔斯直接落入他的儿子威廉的头上。

　　Asked specifically whether he would be ‘up for Queen Camilla’, the Prime Minister told Sky News: ‘I’m a big Camilla fan. ‘I think the country is getting to know her and getting to see that she is a very warm-hearted person with a big sense of humour and a big heart.’

　　首相卡梅伦对此却不避讳，他说：“我是卡米拉忠实的粉丝。可米拉有一颗善良的心，她也十分幽默，很吸引人。”

　　It is very unusual for a sitting Prime Minister to make such an emphatic contribution to such a sensitive constitutional debate, which still inspires high emotion among supporters of the late Princess Diana. Buckingham Palace aides remain acutely aware of national opinion on Diana and on Camilla’s role in the very public break-up of her husband’s first marriage.

　　现任首相卡梅伦的这番言论让媒体“大呼过瘾”，迄今为止，没有任何一个现任首相对这个敏感问题发表如此个性化、主观的个人见解。据悉，白金汉宫副手们还是十分关注查尔斯与戴安娜离婚后民众对此的看法。

　　Vocabulary：

　　aide n. 助手；副官；侍从武官