3-24

24.

We left Kensington Palace in a dark car, a completely different and unmarked car, both of us

hiding in the back. We went through the rear gate, around 6:30 p.m. My bodyguards¹ said we

weren’t being followed, so when we got stuck in traffic on Regent Street, we hopped² out. We were

going to the theater and didn’t want to draw attention by arriving after the show had started. We

were so intent on not being late, on watching the clock, that we didn’t see “them” trailing us—in

brazen³ violation⁴ of stalking laws.

They shot us close to the theater. From a moving vehicle, through a bus stop window.

The shooters, of course, were Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber.

We didn’t love being papped, especially by those two. But we’d managed to elude⁵ them for

five months. Good run, we said.

The next time we got papped was a few weeks later, leaving dinner with Doria, who’d flown in

with Meg. The paps got us, but missed Doria, happily. She’d turned to go to her hotel, we’d turned

with my bodyguards to go to our car. The paps never saw her.

I’d been quite nervous about that dinner. It’s always nerve-racking to meet a girlfriend’s

mother, but especially when you’re currently making her daughter’s life hell. The Sun had just

recently run a front-page headline: Harry’s girl on Pornhub. The story showed images of Meg,

from Suits, which some perverts⁶ had posted on some porn site. The Sun didn’t say, of course, that

the images were used illegally, that Meg knew nothing about them, that Meg had had as much to

do with porn as Granny had. It was just a trick, a way to bait readers into buying the paper or

clicking on the story. Once the reader discovered there was nothing there, too late! Ad money was

in the purse of The Sun.

We’d fought it, filed a formal complaint, but thankfully the subject didn’t come up that night

over dinner. We had happier things to discuss. Meg had just done a trip to India with World

Vision, working on menstrual health management and education access for young girls, after

which she’d taken Doria on a yoga retreat in Goa—a belated celebration of Doria’s sixtieth

birthday. We were celebrating Doria, celebrating being together, and doing it all at our favorite

place, Soho House at 76 Dean Street. On the subject of India: we laughed about the advice I’d

given Meg before she’d left: Do not take a photo in front of the Taj Mahal. She’d asked why and

I’d said: My mum.

I’d explained that my mother had posed for a photo there, and it had become iconic, and I

didn’t want anyone thinking Meg was trying to mimic⁷ my mother. Meg had never heard of this

photo, and found the whole thing baffling, and I loved her for being baffled.

That dinner with Doria was wonderful, but I look back on it now as the end of the beginning.

The next day, the pap photos appeared, and there was a new flood of stories, a new surge along the

many channels of social media. Racism⁸, misogyny, criminal stupidity—it all increased.

Not knowing where else to turn, I phoned Pa.

Don’t read it, darling boy.

It’s not that simple, I said angrily. I might lose this woman. She might either decide I’m not

worth the bother, or the press might so poison the public that some idiot might do something bad,

harm her in some way.

It was already happening in slow motion. Death threats. Her workplace on lockdown because

someone, reacting to what they’d read, had made a credible⁹ threat. She’s isolated¹⁰, I said, and

afraid, she hasn’t raised the blinds in her house for months—and you’re telling me not to read it?

He said I was overreacting. This is sadly just the way it is.

I appealed to his self-interest. Doing nothing was a terrible look for the monarchy¹¹. People out

there have strong feelings about what’s happening to her, Pa. They take it personally, you need to

understand that.

He was unmoved.

1 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

2 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

3 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 elude   

v.躲避，困惑

参考例句：

• If you chase it,it will elude you.如果你追逐着它， 它会躲避你。
• I had dared and baffled his fury.I must elude his sorrow.我曾经面对过他的愤怒，并且把它挫败了；现在我必须躲避他的悲哀。

6 perverts   

n.性变态者( pervert的名词复数 )v.滥用( pervert的第三人称单数 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• A clever criminal perverts his talents. 一个聪明的犯罪者误用了他的才智。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Not all fondlers are sexual perverts. 并非所有的骚扰者都是性变态。 来自互联网

7 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 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。