英女王登基60年：還原一個最真實的伊麗莎白女王

1. She's shy
她很內斂

Her Majesty may have reigned for 60 years but she remains quite a shy person at heart. Yes, she’s learnt how to handle all manner of social situations, rise to the occasion, and meet the incredible demands of being a monarch in the modern age, thanks in part to the advice of her closest courtiers.
女王儘管已登基60年，骨子裏卻仍是一個內斂的人。的確，她已學會如何處理各種境況，如何應付自如，或迎合現代社會人們對一位女王的要求；但這些成就部分得歸功於她身邊大臣的忠諫。

2. The smile is real
她的微笑發自內心

I’ve been very struck by just how happy the Queen looks these days. I think that’s down to the fact that the Royal Family has survived the travails of recent decades to emerge as strong as ever. Charles’s predicament following the death of Diana and the difficult years afterwards seems to have been resolved. What’s more, she’s still got the Duke of Edinburgh by her side, and her grandchildren William and Harry – have turned out to be everything she could wish for. In short, the future of the succession seems assured – and I think that’s a source of tremendous pride and satisfaction to her.
近來女王看上去很開心。我想這跟王室堅強熬過幾十年的艱難風雨有關吧。無論是戴安娜王妃之死還是查爾斯的窘境，都已成爲過往。何況愛丁堡公爵還陪伴在她身邊，孫子威廉和哈利一切也都順順當當，王室繼承還將繼續下去——對女王而言，這就是莫大的自豪和欣慰了吧。
3. She has a wicked wit
她風趣聰慧

She can be very funny – a side of her which the public rarely gets to see. I think she’s all too aware that as a monarch she has to be serious and representative of the nation, but in private she can often display a real sense of fun and a lovely, spontaneous sense of humour.
女王有時非常風趣——只可惜公衆很少有機會看到罷了。作爲女王，她意識到自己得嚴肅正經，要展現一國君主之風範。但私下裏，她真的很風趣，有時還耍點調皮的小幽默。

4. Faith underpins her life
她對待信仰忠貞不渝

The Queen is of course the head of the Church of England – but it’s sometimes forgotten that she’s also a woman of deep Christian faith. I once saw her holding a rather worn prayer book which I think is in itself telling – because it shows that this is a woman who doesn’t just pay lip service to God, but prays and is a true believer. She is of course a regular churchgoer, and I’m sure she has drawn great sustenance from her faith during difficult times in her reign.
當然，女王是英國國教會的最高元首；但很少有人意識到她本人就是一名忠誠的基督教徒。我曾看她拿着一本非常破舊的祈禱書——這恰好說明女王絕非虛有其表，而是千真萬確信仰上帝。她也經常去教堂做禮拜。我想，正是這種虔誠的信仰才幫她度過了在位期間的艱難歲月吧。
5. She's a make-do-and-mend Queen
她勤儉節約

The Queen has never been an extravagant person. She was 13 when World War II began, so her formative years were hugely shaped by growing up in the shadow of the conflict. The entire nation had to make sacrifices and while no one is suggesting the Royal Family had to slum it, Britain stood alone for a while against Germany, food was rationed and there was a real sense of make-do-and-mend. That’s something that has stayed with the Queen all her life, and I think that’s partly why she likes Kate, who’s not afraid to wear the same dress twice, and is so patently not in the ‘spend, spend, spend’ mould.
女王向來不喜歡鋪張浪費。第二次世界大戰爆發時她才13歲，在戰爭的陰影中長大。當時全英國人民都得做出犧牲，儘管沒人要求王室參與其中，但他們卻並未逃避責任。英國與德國孤軍奮戰時，食物都定量配給，一切都得省吃儉用。而這種勤儉節約的作風就此伴隨了女王一生。女王之所以喜歡凱特，很可能也因爲凱特從不介意一件衣服多穿兩次吧。顯然，凱特也不是“大手大腳”類型的人。

6. Children are special to her
她特喜歡小孩

It’s rarely remarked upon, but the humility the Queen shows when she receives flowers from children says a lot to me about the hidden monarch. She must have been handed thousands of garlands by countless children – but judging by the way in which she accepts them, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s the first time she’s been given flowers. The way she bends down to accept flowers from small children is tantamount to her saying that she regards them as her equals.
這或許不值得一提，但女王接過孩子們鮮花時的謙遜神情也能展現她不爲人知的一面。她一定收到過數不清的孩子們的鮮花——但每次看她接花的方式，你都會以爲這是她第一次收到鮮花呢。她彎腰接過鮮花的神情，恰好表明她真將孩子平等相待的。
7. She is serious about her duty
她恪盡職守

The Queen has laid a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday on all but a handful years during her long reign – the only exceptions being when she was either pregnant or overseas on an official visit (1959, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1983 and 1999). This terribly moving annual ceremony means a huge amount to her, in large part because she lived through World War II, and saw how great a price we as a nation paid to preserve our freedom.
女王在位期間，除了懷孕或出國訪問（1959年, 1961年, 1963年, 1968年, 1983年和 1999年），幾乎每年都在陣亡將士紀念日那天去紀念碑前敬獻花圈。女王自己就經歷過二戰，親眼看到一個國家爲爭取自由所付出的巨大代價。所以，她尤爲看重這個節日。

8. She's kind at heart
她溫厚善良

This isn’t something that’s ever much reported, but she’s very thoughtful for anyone she knows who has been bereaved or ill, performing little acts of kindness. For instance, she paid a private visit to Martin Charteris (above) – who served her for many years as her Assistant Private Secretary and then Private Secretary, and did so much for her as a young monarch – shortly before his death in 1999.
很遺憾關於女王這方面的報道並不多。其實，她非常關心身邊的人。不管誰病了或失去了親人，她都會給予安慰。1999年，馬丁查特里斯去世之前，她曾特意看望過他（見圖）——馬丁曾擔任她的私人祕書助理，後來又成爲正式私人祕書，爲年輕時的女王立下過汗馬功勞。
9. She loved her palace on the water
她鍾愛皇家遊艇

The Queen was terribly saddened to see the Royal Yacht Britannia pensioned had a huge amount of affection for the ship because it was the only home that was ever specially created for her, in every sense of the ’s interesting to note that the Royal Yacht was furnished in a much more contemporary style than the palaces, with their George III antique also appreciated the freedom the yacht gave her to escape the prying eyes of the world and just be herself.
皇家遊艇“大不列顛號”被迫退役時，女王很難受。她對這艘遊艇很有感情。嚴格講來，這是唯一一艘專門爲她而造的遊艇。不過有趣的是，這艘皇家遊艇的風格比皇宮摩登得多，裏面配有喬治三世時代的桌子。而且在遊艇上，她能躲開世人的八卦，完完全全屬於她自己。

10. Animals really are important to her
她是個動物迷

This is a woman who is known for her love of animals, and in particular her monarch, from time to time she invites people to Windsor Castle, and I remember being there once when one of her corgis rolled over onto its back at her feet and there was a look of sheer unadulterated joy on her face.
人們都知道女王很喜愛小動物，尤其是她那些威爾士矮腳狗。 女王喜歡時不時地請人去溫莎城堡做客。記得我有次在那兒看到威爾士矮腳狗滾了個四腳朝天，女王頓時樂開了花，開心不已。