女王发诏书:威廉王子若生女将获公主头衔

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.

英国女王伊丽莎白已经宣布如果威廉王子和怀孕的妻子凯特•米德尔顿生一个女儿，她将正式拥有公主头衔，更新了大约一个世纪以前确立的法规。

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.

根据国王乔治五世在1917年12月颁布的规定，只有威廉和凯特将在今年年中出生的长子可能会被称为王子。

A girl would have only have had the title "Lady" and would not have been known as "Her Royal Highness."

女儿只会有“夫人”头衔，不会被称为“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，女王已经发布诏书——皇室公告的一种形式——改变这一点，因此威廉所有的孩子都会有继承权，他的父亲查尔斯王储也将得到相同的待遇。

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.

在英国和其他15个女王是其君主的英联邦国家同意改变王位继承法的规则之后这样的变化被期待，男性将不再优先成为继承人。

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.

通常涉及个人头衔或官方地位时，诏书允许君主做出调整或公告，而不需议会同意。

The queen also used the method to confer the title Duke of Cambridge upon William when he married Middleton.

当威廉与米德尔顿结婚时女王还使用该方法授予他剑桥公爵的头衔。

Interest in Middleton's pregnancy has been strong.

对米德尔顿怀孕的兴趣一直很浓。