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46.

I’d barely recovered from Bodmin Moor¹ when word came down from Granny. She wanted me togo to the Caribbean. A two-week tour to commemorate² her sixtieth year on the throne, my firstofficial royal tour representing her.

It was strange to be called away so suddenly, with a finger snap, from my Army duties,especially so close to deployment³.

But then I realized it wasn’t strange at all.

She was, after all, my commander.

March 2012. I flew to Belize, drove from the airport to my first event along roads throngedwith people, all waving signs and flags. At my first stop, and every stop thereafter, I drank toasts toGranny and my hosts with homemade alcohol, and performed many rounds of a local dance calledthe punta.

I also had my first taste of cow-foot soup, which had more of a kick than the homemadealcohol.

At one stop I told a crowd: Unu come, mek we goo paati. In Creole that means: Come on, let’sparty. The crowd lost it.

People cheered my name, and shouted my name, but many shouted my mother’s name. At onestop a lady hugged me and cried: Diana’s baby! Then fainted.

I visited a lost city called Xunantunich. Thriving Mayan metropolis⁴, centuries ago, a guide toldme. I climbed a stone temple, El Castillo, which was intricately carved with hieroglyphs⁵, friezes,faces. At the top someone said this was the highest point in the whole nation. The view wasstunning, but I couldn’t help looking down at my feet. Below were the bones of untold⁶ numbers ofdead Mayan royals. A Mayan Westminster Abbey.

In the Bahamas I met ministers, musicians, journalists, athletes, priests. I attended churchservices, street festivals, a state dinner, and drank more toasts. I rode out to Harbour Island in aspeedboat that broke down and began to sink. As we took on water, along came the press boat. Iwanted to say no thanks, never, but it was either join them or swim for it.

I met India Hicks, Pa’s goddaughter, one of Mummy’s bridesmaids. She took me along theHarbour Island beach. The sand was bright pink. Pink sand? It made me feel stoned. Notaltogether unpleasant. She told me why the sand was pink, a scientific explanation, which I didn’tunderstand.

At some point I visited a stadium full of children. They lived in abject⁷ poverty, faced dailychallenges, and yet they greeted me with jubilant cheers and laughter. We played, danced, did alittle boxing. I’d always loved children, but I felt an even keener connection to this group becauseI’d just become a godfather—to Marko’s son Jasper. Deep honor. And an important signpost, Ithought, I hoped, in my evolution as a man.

Towards the end of the visit the Bahamian children gathered around me and presented me witha gift. A gigantic silver crown and an enormous red cape⁸.

One of them said: For Her Majesty⁹.

I’ll see that she gets it.

I hugged many of them on my way out of the stadium, and on the plane to the next stop Idonned their crown proudly. It was the size of an Easter basket and my staff dissolved into fits ofhysterical laughter.

You look a perfect idiot, sir.

That may be. But I’m going to wear it at the next stop.

Oh, sir, no, sir, please!

I still don’t know how they talked me out of it.

I went to Jamaica, bonded¹⁰ with the prime minister, ran a footrace with Usain Bolt. (I won, butcheated.) I danced with a woman to Bob Marley’s “One Love.”

Let’s get together to fight this holy Armagiddyon (one love)At every stop, it seemed, I planted a tree, or several. Royal tradition—though I added a twist.

Normally, when you arrive at a tree planting, the tree is already in the ground, and you just throwa ceremonial bit of soil into the hole. I insisted on actually planting the tree, covering the roots,giving it some water. People seemed shocked by this break with protocol¹¹. They treated it asradical.

I told them: I just want to make sure the tree will live.

 

1 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

2 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

5 hieroglyphs   

n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphs are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 来自辞典例句
• This paper discusses the fundamental distinctions between the hieroglyphs andforerunner of writing. 英汉象形文字的比较是建立在象形文字具体内涵的基础上。 来自互联网

6 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

7 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 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！

10 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

11 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。