威廉王子大婚纪念品开售

Britain's royal wedding is still four months away, but the first official memorabilia went on sale Monday - a range of wedding china personally approved by the couple.

Prince William's office said the items had been commissioned by the palace department responsible for the royal family's art collection and made in Stoke-on-Trent in central England, a traditional center for British ceramics.

The three souvenirs - a tankard, plate and pill box - each feature the couple's entwined initials, the prince's coronet emblem and the date of the wedding - April 29, 2011.

On sale at royal palaces and a website, profits from the collectables will be donated to the charity which curates the royal family's artworks, known as the Royal Collection.

"The Royal Collection has been working on the design since around the time of the engagement - it's a very fast moving process," William's office said in a statement.

His office said that the prince and his future bride had both approved the wedding merchandise.

William and Kate Middleton made her first public appearance on Saturday since announcing their engagement, attending a cancer charity fundraising event in eastern England.

The couple are to be married at Westminster Abbey on April 29 after a lengthy courtship.

距离英国威廉王子大婚还有4个月之久，但首批官方纪念品已于本周一开始出售。据悉，这套婚礼纪念瓷器获得了威廉王子及未婚妻的个人认可。

威廉王子办公室表示，这套纪念品由负责收藏皇家艺术品的皇室部门委托制做，并在英格兰中部素有英国瓷都之称的特伦特河畔斯托克生产。

首批纪念品有三款瓷器，杯子、盘子和药盒，均印有威廉和凯特盘绕在一起的名字首字母、威廉王子的皇冠徽章、以及婚期2011年4月29日。

纪念品在皇家宫殿和一家网站出售，所获利润将捐赠给负责管理皇家艺术品的慈善机构——皇家珍藏。

威廉王子办公室在一份声明中说：“‘皇家珍藏’自威廉王子订婚前后才开始设计纪念品，效率非常高。”

办公室还表示，威廉王子和准王妃都认可了这套结婚纪念品。

上周六，威廉王子携准王妃凯特．米德尔顿在英格兰东部参加了一场癌症慈善筹款活动，这是自两人宣布订婚后首次公开亮相。

在相恋多年后，两人将于明年4月29日在威斯敏斯特教堂举办婚礼。

Vocabulary:

coronet: any small crown, esp one worn by princes or peers as a mark of rank（冠冕，宝冠）

curate: select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or exhibition)（保管藏品，负责藏品保管的人则称为curator）