美国国家公共电台 NPR--For the majority of Britons, the queen has been the face of the British monarchy

For the majority of Britons, the queen has been the face of the British monarchy²

Transcript³

With the ascension of a new British monarch¹, a sort of royal rebranding is underway — replacing the image of Queen Elizabeth with that of King Charles on everything from currency to postage stamps.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

For the overwhelming majority of Britons, the face of Queen Elizabeth II has until now been the face of the British monarchy. The queen's portrait and her initials were just about everywhere in daily life - on currency, stamps, postal⁴ boxes, passports and then nearly every type of consumer product. Now\ with the ascension to the throne of a new monarch, King Charles III, a sort of massive royal rebranding is underway. Pauline Maclaran is a professor of marketing⁵ and consumer research at University of London.

PAULINE MACLARAN: There will be a whole new rush of commemoratives to mark Charles's ascension to the throne. Of course, we'll have to get used to the new face. And that will be difficult, I think. I think it will jar us a little bit to see this coming in.

FADEL: Take British currency. Maclaran says it will be some time before the face of King Charles appears in place of the queen's image on coins and banknotes. So how long?

MACLARAN: Well, (laughter) it's - how long is a piece of string? There isn't a definite prescribed time. We would expect that it would be achieved over the next couple of years, I think.

FADEL: And she says Britons will need a period of mental adjustment.

MACLARAN: I imagine once we receive a coin with Charles's head on it, we'll be sort of saying, is this really a pound coin?

FADEL: Twenty-nine billion British coins and 4.7 billion banknotes will be phased out over the coming years. And that's to say nothing of the 220 billion unsold postage stamps bearing Queen Elizabeth's image. Some other changes are simpler, if no less jarring.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) God save our gracious queen. Long live our noble queen.

FADEL: The U.K. national anthem⁶ has already been revamped.

MACLARAN: Just hearing "God Save The King" instead of the queen - we've been used to it for - some of us for 70 years.

FADEL: And then there are all the consumer brands sold in the U.K. that will soon bear the king's insignia - everything from outerwear to steak sauce.

MACLARAN: Yeah, it's bound to momentarily just shake us, I think.

FADEL: One bit of reassurance⁷ for King Charles - he does get to approve his royal likeness⁸ in all its official uses.

(SOUNDBITE OF BJOLLUKOR TONLISTARSKOLI REYKJANESBAEJAR'S "HOPPIPOLLA")

1 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。

2 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

7 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

8 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。