3-75

75.

Days later there was a meeting at Sandringham. I don’t remember who called it the Sandringham

Summit. Someone in the press, I suspect.

On my way there I got a text from Marko about a story in The Times.

Willy was declaring that he and I were now “separate entities¹.”

“I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that anymore,” he said.

Meg had gone back to Canada to be with Archie, so I was on my own for this summit. I got

there early, hoping to have a quick chat with Granny. She was sitting on a bench before the

fireplace and I sat down beside her. I saw the Wasp² react with alarm. He went buzzing off and

moments later returned with Pa, who sat beside me. Immediately after him came Willy, who

looked at me as if he planned to murder me. Hello, Harold. He sat across from me. Separate

entities indeed.

When all participants had arrived, we shifted to a long conference table, with Granny at the

head. Before each chair was a royal notepad and pencil.

The Bee and the Wasp conducted a quick summary of where we were. The subject of the press

came up pretty quickly. I referenced their cruel and criminal behavior, but said they’d had a ton of

help. This family had enabled the papers by looking the other way, or by actively³ courting them,

and some of the staff had worked directly with the press, briefing them, planting stories,

occasionally rewarding and fêting them. The press was a big part of why we’d come to this crisis

—their business model demanded that we be in constant conflict—but they weren’t the only

culprits.

I looked at Willy. This was his moment to jump in, echo what I was saying, talk about his

maddening experiences with Pa and Camilla. Instead he complained about a story in the morning

papers suggesting that he was the reason we were leaving.

I’m now being accused of bullying⁴ you and Meg out of the family!

I wanted to say: We had nothing to do with that story…but imagine how you might feel if we

had leaked it. Then you’ll know how Meg and I have felt the last three years.

The private secretaries began to address Granny about the Five Options.

Your Majesty⁵, you’ve seen the Five Options.

Yes, she said.

We all had. They’d been emailed to us, five different ways of proceeding⁶. Option 1 was

continuance of the status quo: Meg and I don’t leave, everyone tries to go back to normal. Option

5 was full severance⁷, no royal role, no working for Granny, and total loss of security.

Option 3 was somewhere in between. A compromise. Closest to what we’d originally

proposed.

I told everyone assembled that, above all, I was desperate to keep security. That was what

worried me most, my family’s physical safety. I wanted to prevent a repeat of history, another

untimely death like the one that had rocked this family to its core twenty-three years earlier, and

from which we were still trying to recover.

I’d consulted with several Palace veterans, people who knew the inner workings of the

monarchy⁸ and its history and they all said Option 3 was best for all parties. Meg and I living

elsewhere part of the year, continuing our work, retaining security, returning to Britain for

charities, ceremonies, events. Sensible solution, these Palace veterans said. And eminently⁹ doable.

But the family, of course, pushed me to take Option 1. Barring that, they would only accept

Option 5.

We discussed the Five Options for nearly an hour. At last the Bee got up and went around the

table, handing out a draft of a statement the Palace would soon be releasing. Announcing

implementation¹⁰ of Option 5.

Wait. I’m confused. You’ve already drafted a statement? Before any discussion? Announcing

Option 5? In other words, the fix was in, this whole time? This summit was just for show?

No answer.

I asked if there were drafts of other statements. Announcing the other options.

Oh yes, of course, the Bee assured me.

Can I see them?

Alas—his printer had gone on the blink, he said. The odds¹¹! At the very moment he was about

to print out those other drafts!

I started laughing. Is this some kind of joke?

Everyone was staring away or down at their shoes.

I turned to Granny: Do you mind if I take a moment, get some air?

Of course!

I left the room. I walked into a big hall and ran into Lady Susan, who’d worked for Granny for

years, and Mr. R, my former upstairs neighbor in the badger¹² sett. They could see I was upset and

they asked if there was anything they could do for me. I smiled and said, No, thank you, then went

back into the room.

There was some discussion at this point of Option 3. Or was it Option 2? It was all starting to

give me a headache. They were wearing me down. I didn’t bloody¹³ care which option we adopted,

so long as security remained in place. I pleaded for continuation of the same armed police

protection I’d had, and needed, since birth. I’d never been allowed to go anywhere without three

armed bodyguards¹⁴, even when I was supposedly the most popular member of the family, and now

I was the target, along with my wife and son, of unprecedented¹⁵ hate—and the leading proposal

under discussion called for total abandonment?

Madness.

I offered to defray the cost of security out of my own pocket. I wasn’t sure how I’d do that, but

I’d find a way.

I made one last pitch: Look. Please. Meg and I don’t care about perks¹⁶, we care about working,

serving—and staying alive.

This seemed simple and persuasive¹⁷. All the heads around the table went up and down.

As the meeting came to a close there was a basic, general agreement. The many fine, granular

details of this hybrid¹⁸ arrangement would be sorted out over a twelve-month transitional period,

during which we’d continue to have security.

Granny rose. We all rose. She walked out.

For me there was one more piece of unfinished business. I went off to find the office of the

Bee. Luckily, I ran into the Queen’s friendliest page, who’d always liked me. I asked for

directions; he said he’d take me himself. He led me through the kitchen, up some back stairs,

down a narrow corridor.

Just that way, he said, pointing.

A few steps later I came upon a huge printer, churning out documents. The Bee’s assistant

swung into view.

Hello!

I pointed¹⁹ at the printer and said: This seems to be working fine?

Yes, Your Royal Highness!

Not broken?

That thing? It’s indestructible, sir!

I asked about the printer in the Bee’s office. That one work too?

Oh, yes, sir! Did you need to print something out?

No, thank you.

I went farther down the corridor, through a door. Everything suddenly looked familiar. Then I

remembered. This was the corridor where I’d slept that Christmas after returning from the South

Pole. And now along came the Bee. Head on. He saw me and looked extremely sheepish…for a

bee. He could tell what I was up to. He heard the printer whirring away. He knew he was busted²⁰.

Oh, sir, please, sir, don’t worry about that, it’s really not important.

Isn’t it?

I walked away from him, went downstairs. Someone suggested that before I left I should step

outside with Willy. Cool our heads.

All right.

We went up and down the yew²¹ hedges. The day was freezing. I was wearing only a light

jacket, and Willy was in a jumper, so both of us were shivering.

I was struck again by the beauty of it all. As in the state room, I felt as if I’d never seen a

palace before. These gardens, I thought, they’re paradise. Why can’t we just enjoy them?

I was braced²² for a lecture. It didn’t come. Willy was subdued²³. He wanted to listen. For the first

time in a long time my brother heard me out, and I was so grateful.

I told him about one past staff member sabotaging²⁴ Meg. Plotting against her. I told him about

one current staff member, whose close friend was taking payments for leaking private stuff to the

press about Meg and me. My sources on this were above reproach, including several journalists

and barristers. Plus, I’d made a visit to New Scotland Yard.

Willy frowned. He and Kate had their own suspicions. He’d look into it.

We agreed to keep talking.

1 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

2 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

6 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

7 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

8 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。

9 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

11 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

12 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

14 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

15 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

16 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

17 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

18 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

19 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

20 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

21 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。

22 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

24 sabotaging   

阴谋破坏（某事物）( sabotage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr Smith fiercely denied any question of sabotaging the talks. 史密斯先生坚决拒绝任何企图阻挠谈话的提问。
• Failed in sabotaging APEC summit in Sydney of Australia. 澳大利亚悉尼APEC会议遭遇惨败。