白金汉宫展览揭秘女王国宴

Entertaining at Buckingham Palace is never going to be a simple affair.

在白金汉宫举办宴会绝不是件简单事儿。

Each and every state banquet (and the Queen has already hosted 110 of them) takes ten days to prepare for and requires 1,700 pieces of mismatched baroque, Rocco and neo-classic cutlery to be placed at each of the 170 table settings precisely 46 cm apart.

每场国宴(英女王已主持了110场)均耗时10天来准备，1700件巴洛克、洛可可和新古典风格的刀叉交叉搭配，这170套餐具均相隔46厘米，毫厘不差。

Crockery is taken from King George IV's 4,000 piece Grand Service (which takes a team of eight three weeks to unpack and repack) and 1,104 glasses - six for each guest to contain water, champagne for the toast, red wine, white wine, champagne or sweet wine and port - must be laid on the pristine 175-foot dining table.

餐具取自国王乔治四世的4000件“大服务(8人需用3周时间进行拆装)。高175英尺的古典餐桌上必须摆放1104个玻璃杯——每位客人6个玻璃杯，分别盛装水、敬酒香槟，红葡萄酒、白葡萄酒、香槟或甜葡萄酒，以及波特酒。

On the night, 76 members of staff, from under butlers to pages, ensure that each plate is laid down at exactly the same time by keeping their eye on a hidden system of traffic lights – blue for ‘stand by’ and amber for 'serve the food'.

当晚，从管家到青年侍从共76名工作人员，他们都目不转睛地盯着隐蔽处的信号灯，蓝灯代表“等待，琥珀色代表“上菜，以此保证每道菜是在同一时间放到桌子上的。

And at the end of the evening the Queen's priceless gilt-edged porcelain is taken back below stairs to be washed, by hand, using good old Fairy Liquid – although woe-betide anyone (and if they have, then the palace isn't saying) who chips one of the those.

当晚宴会结束时，女王价值连城的金边瓷器会被收到楼下，用上等的旧式仙子洗洁精手洗，如果谁摔碎了餐具，谁就惨了。(不过即便有处罚，王室也并没有明文规定。)

Such attention to details is, says Royal Collection Trust curator, Anna Reynolds, one of things that makes any visit to Buckingham Palace 'magnificent, magical and memorable'.

皇家收藏信托策展人安娜•雷诺兹说，如此细致入微使得每次白金汉宫之旅都很“壮观、神奇、难忘。

And from Saturday members of the public visiting the royal residence while the Queen is on holiday over the summer will experience what it is like to attend an event at the invitation of Her Majesty at a stunning new exhibition entitled 'A Royal Welcome'.

白金汉宫的“王室欢迎你展览将于本周六拉开帷幕，此间，女王正在度暑假。这场精彩绝伦的展览将让人耳目一新，前来参观的公众将体验到受女王之邀而出席活动的感受。

Last year the Royal Family welcomed around 62,000 guests to the palace on State Visits, receptions, Garden Parties, Investitures and private audiences.

算上国事访问、招待会、游园会、授衔仪式以及私人会见，去年，共有约6.2万人受皇室邀请来到白金汉宫。

For the first and only time, visitors will be permitted to walk through the Grand Entrance, where the Queen departs and returns to the palace for ceremonial processions, outside which is the two-tonne Australian State Coach (which unlike others has electric windows and central heating).

绝无仅有的是，参观者可以穿过大厅。大厅是庆典游行时女王离宫和回宫的地方，大厅外是两公吨重的澳大利亚国家马车(与其它国家马车不同的是，它配置了电动窗户和中央采暖系统)。

The Queen, of course, is always the centre of attention and the attention to detail put into her outfits is second to none.

当然，女王是大家时刻关注的焦点，而最受关注的细节莫过于女王的着装。

A recreation of her dressers' workroom shows the exquisite pale grey silk dress embroidered with Swarovski crystals designed by Angela Kelly she wore to the recent Singapore State Banquet – alongside the ancient sewing machine used to make it - and several of the hat blocks used by her personal milliner, known only as Stella, stamped with Her Majesty.

仿制的女王更衣室里的展品包括一件精致的浅灰色真丝裙，镶有施华洛世奇水晶，由设计师安吉拉•凯莉一手打造，女王最近曾穿着它参加新加坡国宴。一同展出的还有制作这件衣服使用的古典缝纫机，以及印有“女王陛下字样的帽模，这些都出自女王唯一的御用帽子设计师斯特利之手。

Glittering alongside them are Queen Alexandra's Russian Kokoshnik Tiara made in 1888 and containing a staggering 488 diamonds, and the Coronation necklace and earrings made for Queen Victoria, both of which she frequently wears on state occasions.

旁边流光溢彩的是卡柯史尼克皇冠，于1888年为亚历山德拉皇后订制，这个俄式皇冠镶嵌的钻石多达488颗。展品还包括维多利亚女王出席国事活动时常佩戴的加冕项链和耳环。

Other fascinating exhibits include the Queen's 'secret entrance' into The White Drawing Room.

其他吸引人的展品还有进入白色会客厅的女王专属“秘密通道。

The passage is hidden behind a giant mirror and side table, on which are displayed several large antique vases, which swings out in its entirety to reveal the entrance to the Queen’s private apartments.

通道就藏在一面大镜子和一张靠墙的桌子之间。桌上陈列着几个古色古香的大花瓶。门完全向内打开后，通往女王私人居所的入口便会展现在眼前。

Young visitors will be encouraged to spot the door, which will for the first time be left slightly ajar.

开展时，这道门会破天荒的虚掩着，以鼓励前来参观的年轻人发现这个秘密通道。

Curator Mrs Reynolds say she hopes the exhibition will allow visitors to experience the planning, preparation and presentation that makes a visit to Buckingham Palace so memorable. 'The level of hospitality here is simply unsurpassed, which is what makes a visit to the palace so unforgettable,' she said.

策展人雷诺兹夫人表示，她希望这次展览能让参观者体验一下整个宴会的策划、准备和展示环节，让他们不虚此行。“白金汉宫的热情好客无与伦比，这样的参观才会让人铭记于心，她说。

A Royal Welcome is open until September 27 as part of the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace.

展览“王室欢迎你将持续到9月27日，这是白金汉宫国宾室夏日开放活动的一部分。

Vocabulary

cutlery: 刀叉餐具

pristine: 原始的;纯洁的

butler: 管家

page: 青年侍从

amber: 琥珀色

porcelain: 瓷器

curator: 策展人

investitures: 授衔仪式

pastry: 糕点

livery: 制服

wine cellar: 酒窖

by all accounts: 一致认为

platter: 大浅盘

dignitary: 显要人物

hat block: 帽模

in its entirety: 全面地

ajar: (门)微开的