女王發詔書:威廉王子若生女將獲公主頭銜
Britain'S Queen Elizabeth has announced that if Prince William and pregnant wife Kate Middleton have a daughter she will officially hold the title of princess, updating rules introduced almost a century ago.
英國女王伊麗莎白已經宣佈如果威廉王子和懷孕的妻子凱特•米德爾頓生一個女兒，她將正式擁有公主頭銜，更新了大約一個世紀以前確立的法規。Under a proclamation from King George V in December 1917, only the eldest son of William and Kate, who is due to give birth sometime in the middle of the year, would have been called a prince.
根據國王喬治五世在1917年12月頒佈的規定，只有威廉和凱特將在今年年中出生的長子可能會被稱爲王子。A girl would have only have had the title "Lady" and would not have been known as "Her Royal Highness."
女兒只會有“夫人”頭銜，不會被稱爲“公主殿下”。
However, the queen has issued a "Letters Patent" - a form of royal announcement - to change this so all the children of William, whose father, Prince Charles, is heir-to-the-throne, would be treated the same.
然而，女王已經發布詔書——皇室公告的一種形式——改變這一點，因此威廉所有的孩子都會有繼承權，他的父親查爾斯王儲也將得到相同的待遇。The change was expected after Britain and the 15 other Commonwealth countries which have the queen as their monarch agreed to change the rules of royal succession so that males would no longer have precedence as heir.
在英國和其他15個女王是其君主的英聯邦國家同意改變王位繼承法的規則之後這樣的變化被期待，男性將不再優先成爲繼承人。Letters patent allow a monarch to make alterations or proclamations usually involving a person's title or official status without the need for parliamentary consent.
通常涉及個人頭銜或官方地位時，詔書允許君主做出調整或公告，而不需議會同意。The queen also used the method to confer the title Duke of Cambridge upon William when he married Middleton.
當威廉與米德爾頓結婚時女王還使用該方法授予他劍橋公爵的頭銜。Interest in Middleton's pregnancy has been strong.
對米德爾頓懷孕的興趣一直很濃。
