英伦广角 2009-03-29 首相提议英王室修改继承法

Prince Charles on royal duty at Buckingham Palace, safe in the knowledge that even if the rules on the succession and royal marriage are dragged into the 21st century, he’ll still get to be king.

Princes William and Harry¹ too are safe in the pecking order, though as it stands at the moment neither of them could hold on to their chances of becoming monarch² if they married a Catholic though that too may be about to change.

"It’s very simple to overcome the anti-Catholic legislation. You just have to repeal³ the words ‘or marry a Catholic or a Papist or ‘(and) similar words to do with the popish print."

The Queen wouldn’t be the Queen if the new proposals have been enforced at the time of her great, great grandmother Queen Victoria. Buckingham Palace would now be home to Princess Felicitas of Prussia or Queen Felicitas so she would presumably be known.

Removing the men-only succession rule would have a startling effect on the current royal line. As it stands now, Princess Anne and her children Peter and Zara are numbers 10, 11 and 12 respectively. If female royal children will be given equal status, and Peter and Zara leapfrog Princes Andrew and Edward and their children to take up positions 4, 5 and 6.

In fact Peter Philips and his wife Autumn would be double winners under the new plan, because she wouldn’t have had to renounce⁴ her Catholic faith as she did in order for Peter to keep his place in the succession line.

All of which begs the question: Why is this debate going on now? The answer, according to Royal commentator⁵ Alastair Bruce, lies with the Queen herself.

"The Palace hasn’t set the timing⁶ here, but 1701 is a long time ago and they need to bring it up to date. Let’s get the legislation done and as far as the Queen and Palace are concerned, it is probably good to get it done now. Her Majesty⁷ is very popular. Prince of Wales will not want to be dealing⁸ with this when he is king, and nor will Prince William. Get it done now."

We are a long way from ditching more than 300 years of royal history and rewriting the 1701 Act of Settlement which governs who can be our king or queen. But the winds of change are certainly blowing through the corridors of the House of Windsor.

David Bowden, Sky News, at Windsor Castle.
 

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

3 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

4 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

5 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。