伤逝的传说:黛安娜与查尔斯的爱情

It was the royal wedding we remember best of all. 25 years ago tomorrow, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in London's St. Paul's Cathedral. CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston looks back to a perfect day which didn't turn out happily ever after.

It was the wedding of the century, watched by over half-a-million people in Britain, and the worldwide audience of a staggering 750 million. The young bride, peering out smilingly from her glass coach, would become the most famous woman in the world, and change the monarchy¹ forever. But that was in the distant and tragic² future. On this day in July, 1981, joy filled the land.

Victoria Mather: This was a moment in history, that, you know, that Prince Charles was going to be king and she was going to be his queen. She was so young, and so beautiful. And she had already sort of got a stranglehold on the hearts and minds of the people.

British journalist Victoria Mather was one of the wedding guests that fabled³ day.

What do you remember most about that day?

I remember most that it was just exactly like anybody else's wedding. That, the bride's mom wore a flowery hat. You know, and there was the naughty little bridesmaid; the bridegroom looked nervous; and the bride fluffed her lines. I mean it was just so like anybody else's wedding, it was just writ⁴ large.

Like the train of Diana's wedding gown, which seemed to go on forever. Elizabeth Emanuel, with her then-husband David, designed the dress. Right after the wedding, they received a phone call.

It was Diana, and we, we couldn't believe it, and she had phoned to thank us for making her wedding dress and saying she felt so beautiful in it. And she actually was taking the time to phone us all. That maybe (But Diana had been, I mean,that's so... you know best sense how sweet she was) so special, yes, she was just like that.

The relationship appeared promising⁵, although in retrospect⁶, there were early warning signs of trouble.

When they were married, she was 19, he was 30 (1 or 2?) 1, 32. what was your opinion of that age gap?

Dangerous, very dangerous, and particularly it was the interview at the time of the engagement, and he made that famous (quote)

I'm amazed that she's been brave enough to take me on.

And I suppose, in love.

Of course.

Whatever 'in love' means?

I thought it was a very strange thing to say, but I do not think that anyone of the participants went into this marriage dishonestly. I think he genuinely wanted to love her, to cherish her, to make the marriage a success.

Did that wedding also represent the end of innocence⁷?

Yes, it was the beginning of the end. We didn't know the time, but yes, it was. Everything started unraveling. From the moment they walked down the aisle⁸ and appeared on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral, that was the road towards the end.

The end, we know about, but the beautiful memories of that brief shining moment, remain. Randall Pinkston, CBS News, London.

Charles and Diana were divorced in 1996, one year before she died in the Paris car crash.

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staggering:extreamly surprising 惊人的
monarchy:a type of government in which a country is ruled by a king or queen 君主政体
stranglehold:a strong power over someone or something that prevents them from having any freedom to act 束缚
bridesmaid:a girl or young woman who helps a bride before and during her wedding 女槟相
writ large:literary clear to almost anyone 显而易见的
unravel:to understand something complicated by thinking about it for a long time 理解

1 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。

2 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

3 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

7 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

8 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。