從威廉王子的頭銜看英國貴族爵位之分

Full details on Prince William's titles - he is now the Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus. After the wedding, Kate Middleton will come into them too. All titles are in the gift of the Queen and it was up to the monarch to choose which one to bestow on her grandson and his new wife.
威廉王子現在的頭銜是：劍橋公爵、斯特拉森伯爵、卡里克弗格斯男爵。婚後凱特也會被冊封相應頭銜。這些頭銜都是由女王自己決定如何冊封的。

Tradition dictates that royal men receive a title on their wedding - and often more than one. As well as a duchess, Miss Middleton will also technically be Princess William of Wales.
皇室成員結婚後都會被賜予頭銜，有時候還不止一個。凱特或許會被稱爲威爾士王妃。

Here's what each of those titles mean:
這些頭銜的含義如下：

• Duke of Cambridge - a dukedom is the highest rank in British peerage. Dukes were the the rulers of the provinces and the King's closest peers in centuries gone by. The second duke of Cambridge, Prince Adolphus Frederick, was the seventh son of King George III. Defying the Royal Marriage Act, he married his mistress, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, an actress and a commoner, in 1847. Since the marriage wasn't legal, his children were all illegitimate.
劍橋公爵——公爵是僅次於國王或親王的最高級貴族，是省級行政區的統治者。第二個劍橋公爵Adolphus Frederick是喬治三世的兒子，因爲娶了一位平民女子，違抗了皇室的命令，因此子女都沒有受封。

• Earl of Strathearn - Earls are the third rank of British peerage. They were traditionally associated with shires, working in effect as local governors, but this relationship died centuries ago.
斯特拉森伯爵——伯爵的地位在貴族中排名第三，郡的統治者，不過這種統治關係在幾個世紀前就廢除了。

• Baron Carrickfergus - Barons are the lowest rank of nobility, originally meaning someone who had pledged their loyalty to the king. Carrickfergus is a large town in Northern Ireland.
卡里克弗格斯男爵——男爵是貴族中最低的爵位，最早男爵就是向皇室表明忠心的人。卡里克弗格斯是北愛爾蘭的一個大鎮鎮名。