英女王50年只穿一款鞋 每双一千镑

They’ve supported the Queen as she goes about her royal duties for almost 50 years, looking decorous yet never detracting attention from their sovereign, and accompanying her everywhere from prison visits to her Diamond Jubilee pageant.

50多年来，无论是视察监狱，还是出席加冕60周年钻石庆典，他们永远伴随在英国女王身边，雅量高致，又不喧宾夺主。

And these valuable servants? Not equerries or other royal minions, but her trusty patent leather shoes, the unsung heroes of the Royal household.

而这些可贵的仆人，他们既非随行武官，也非其他皇室侍从，而是她可靠的漆皮皮鞋，皇室的无名英雄。

It takes a team of four — not including the junior member of Buckingham Palace staff, dubbed ‘Cinders’, who has the job of wearing in her Majesty’s shoes — to produce the classic black numbers (she has other colours in the same style) which cost about £1,000. Yet the Queen certainly gets value for money out of them, wearing the same pair for years and re-heeling them when they wear out.

制作女王的皮鞋需要四名工人。此外，白金汉宫还会雇佣一名初级员工，职称为“Cinders”，专门为女王磨鞋。这位试鞋姑娘工作就是试穿这款黑色的经典皮鞋(女王还有相同款式其他颜色的皮鞋)。女王的皮鞋价格约1000英镑。50多年来女王一直穿着同一双皮鞋，只有在鞋子磨坏的时候才会更换鞋跟，所以绝对物超所值。

When she stepped out in Northern Ireland with Prince Philip this week, she was wearing shoes identical to those she first sported five decades ago. Politics change, and so, gradually, does the monarch’s style of dress.

本周，英国女王和丈夫菲利普亲王在北爱尔兰出席了一场公开活动，在场所穿皮鞋与她50年前首次公开露面时所穿的那双一模一样。半个世纪过去了，政坛发生翻天覆地的变化，王室成员的服装式样也都历经改变。

The coats have become narrower, the hemlines slightly longer. Only her Majesty’s shoes remain emphatically the same.

外套变得更窄，裙摆变得更长，唯有女王皮鞋是永恒的经典。

At 88, the Queen relies on her shoes to be less glass slipper, more steadfast slip-on. Comfort and support are key. As a young woman she often wore shoes with a thinner, higher heel, but for nearly 50 years the same low style has kept her sure-footed and age-defyingly nimble.

88岁的女王需要的不是一双水晶鞋，而是结实的休闲鞋。选鞋的关键是舒适和牢靠。年轻时，女王经常穿细高跟，但近50年来她穿着同款的平底鞋，步履稳健、举步如飞。

Known as her ‘work’ shoes, they are handmade for her by shoemaker Anello & Davide of Kensington, West London, from the finest calf leather, usually in black patent with a brass clasp or a small bow.

女王“战靴”由英国伦敦的阿内洛＆戴维公司手工制作，采用上等小牛皮，通常为黑色漆皮缎面，搭配一个铜扣或者小蝴蝶结。

The team works from a wooden ‘last’ made from measurements of the Queen’s foot, and include a pattern cutter; a clicker, who selects the leather; a closer, who sews the upper part and adds stiffeners; and, finally, a maker, who adds the sole and heel on the last.

制鞋工人共有四名：一名裁剪师，负责根据女王脚型和鞋码制作鞋楦；一名冲切工，负责挑选皮革；一名裁缝，负责缝制鞋面和加强筋；最后，还有一名鞋匠，负责为鞋楦加制鞋底和鞋跟。