Princess Diana would often try to bring normalcy1 into her children’s lives. Once she took them to Sticky Fingers a fast food restaurant in London. Their dad, Prince Charles, wasn’t a fan of such places “because he didn’t like the food,” recalls Ken Wharfe, Diana’s former bodyguard. But Mom and the boys had a blast2. “That’s where kids of that age would eat, and that’s what Diana wanted her kids to do,” says Wharfe. “It wasn’t the food that mattered, it was the experience.”
She was beloved by the world because of her uncomplicated approach to people, by thinking of others first, sharing with them her joyful spirit, showing them the world’s beauty and its pain, wishing for them a future filled with love and normalcy. When with Will and Harry she treated them like boys rather than royals. One time, “William asked, ‘Can we go on a bus?’ So we all jumped onto one and later got on the subway,” remembers Wharfe. “Not for a minute did anyone think they’d see the Princess of Wales and her sons on the Piccadilly line. But that’s what Diana was like.”
Now it has been nearly 10 years since Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, and in that time her influence over her sons—and indeed the monarchy3—has become only more apparent. On July 1—Diana’s birthday—both Will and Harry hosted a concert as well as a memorial service on Aug. 31. Diana’s friend Vivienne Parry says “It has upset4 them that she was never honored properly. They are doing something the royal family should have done 10 years ago.”
Yet Diana’s greatest lasting achievements are her sons. Each displays traits5 of their mother producing a new generation of royalty which not only focuses on duty but humanity. With their commitment6 to charitable work, their relationships with women, their insistence on living as normally as possible, Will and Harry “are keeping Diana’s memory alive,” says a family friend.
“When her sons were young, Diana took them along on some of her visits to shelters. She said, ‘I want them to see what it’s like for the homeless, people who struggle,’” says Wharfe. In 2004 Harry traveled to the African nation of Lesotho and like his mother won the hearts of those around him.
Will has lent his support to several charities, including Centrepoint, which helps homeless young people. “He came in once and took part in a workshop where two girls and he were taught to cook lasagna7,” says Centrepoint chief executive Anthony Lawton. “He gets on easily with all sorts of people.” Their father, Charles, is also heavily involved with numerous charities. But they show their mother’s ease and charm when at charities.
Diana also taught her sons to accept the inevitable burdens of being royal. “She dealt with the media incredibly well and taught Will and Harry that it’s part of their life too,” says Wharfe, who recalls Diana telling Will something when he showed unease around some photographers. “She said, ‘You better get used to it. Just smile and wave and move on.’” But Diana made sure their childhoods did not resemble their father’s strict, isolated upbringing; she dressed them in jeans and took them to movies and amusement8 parks. Today neither Will nor Harry “live in a gilded cage like their father did,” says a family friend. Harry in particular “doesn’t want to be royalty, he wants to be like everyone else,” says Ingrid Seward, author of a book on the princes, William & Harry—a wish reflected in Harry’s desire to be sent to Iraq to fight with his regiment9.
Royals writer Judy Wade, noting how quickly each entered into long relationships with the first women they seriously dated said, “It was their mother’s influence that turned the boys into such young men. She would often tell the boys to show their emotions, unlike their father.” Will recently broke up with Kate Middleton, 25, his girlfriend of nearly five years. But Harry and Chelsy Davy, 21, are still going strong after three years. “They seem very much in love,” says someone who saw the couple hugging and kissing at the Badminton Horse Trials May 5. “You can see it in their eyes, their body language, how close they are.”
Harry and Will are trying to decide for themselves what roles they will play in the monarchy. “I’m not going to make excuses to go abroad and enjoy myself, I want to make a difference and help those who are suffering.” Harry declared in 2005. “I can see myself doing as much as I can in the position that I’ve got.”Their tributes10 to Diana, for example, were entirely their idea, and both are actively involved in planning them. “The 10th anniversary comes at a time when William and Harry are just entering their adult lives,” says a senior Palace source, “and they feel ready to make a statement about how they want their mother to be remembered.”
Many would say Will and Harry—older and wiser than they ate at Sticky Fingers, but still, in some ways, the same sweet kids—make that statement every day. “The most important thing to Diana was to make sure her boys grew up to be normal human beings,” says a family friend. “And apart from the fact that everyone in the world knows their faces, they are very normal boys. That is Diana’s legacy.”
黛安娜王妃在世时常尽量让自己的孩子像普通儿童一样生活。 有一次，她带孩子们来到伦敦一家名为“粘手店”的快餐馆。孩子们的父亲——也就是查尔斯王子可不喜欢这种地方。“因为他对这种食物不感冒，”黛安娜生前的保镖肯·沃尔夫说。但是，母亲和孩子们却心满意足。“那个年龄段的小孩就爱去那儿吃东西，黛安娜正是想让自己的小孩跟同龄人一样过日子。”沃尔夫说，“问题的关键不是吃东西，而是体验生活。”
黛安娜王妃之所以受到全世界人民的爱戴，就因为她平易近人，就因为她首先替别人着想， 就因为她想与大伙儿分享她的快乐，就因为她让大家看到这世界的美丽与痛苦，就因为她祈祷这世界充满爱与平凡。同威廉和哈里在一起时，她把他们看作普通孩子，而不是王室成员。有一次,“威廉问:‘我们可不可以坐公共汽车？’结果我们一行就跳上了一辆公汽，后来又坐了地铁,” 沃尔夫回忆道。“绝没有人想到会在皮克迪里公交线上看到威尔士王妃和她的儿子。但是，黛安娜就是这样的人。”
自1997年8月31日黛安娜在巴黎遭遇车祸身亡已近10年，在这段时间她对儿子们的影响——实际上是对整个王室的影响——越发明显。今年7月1日——黛安娜的诞辰——还有8月31日，威廉和哈里都举办了音乐会和其他纪念仪式。黛安娜的生前好友维维娜·帕里说：“王妃生前没有受到应有的礼遇，这令他们十分不安。他俩现在所做的，正是王室10 年前就该做的事。”
黛安娜最伟大的成就是教育好了两个孩子。每个孩子都展现了母亲的美德——新一代王室的风范：不只全力以赴地履行自己的义务，还要表现出人性的一面。他们都热衷慈善工作、与女人保持着适当的关系、尽可能过普通人的生活——威廉和哈里“正以自己的行动纪念母亲黛安娜,”一位家庭好友说。
“孩子们年幼时, 黛安娜常带他们一同前往难民营。她说:‘我希望他们看看无家可归的人、拼命挣扎的人过的是什么日子！’”沃尔夫说。2004年，哈里来到非洲的莱索托，像母亲一样博得了周围人的好感。
威廉王子帮助了好几家慈善机构，其中包括“中心点”——这是一家专门帮助无家可归青年的慈善组织。“有一次，威廉来了，与俩女孩一起学习如何烤宽面条,” “中心点”慈善机构的首席执行官安东尼·罗顿说。“他与各种各样的人都处得很好。”父亲查尔斯王储也参加了各种慈善活动。但是，在慈善组织里，两个孩子展现的却是母亲的平易与魅力。
黛安娜还教育儿子们承担起王室不可回避的重任。“应对媒体时她得心应手，手段高明得令人难以置信。”沃尔夫回忆说，有一次黛安娜看见威廉面对摄影师时有几分不自在，“她告诉威廉和哈里，说这是生活的一部分。她说，你最好学着适应。尽量微笑，挥挥手，继续走动。”但是，黛安娜努力不让孩子们的童年像他们父亲那样严厉、与世隔绝；她给孩子们穿牛仔裤，带他们去看电影、逛游乐场。今天无论是威廉还是哈里都不愿像父亲一样“生活在镀金的笼子里”—— 一位家族好友说。特别是哈里——他尤其不愿“做皇族一员，他想成为普普通通的人，”——《威廉与哈里王子》一书的作者英格里·希华德说。哈里王子渴望被派到伊拉克与战友一起作战，正反映了这一心态。
宫廷作家袭德·韦德写道，两个王子与第一位女孩子正式交往后总能保持长久关系，“这多亏了母亲的影响：她把孩子们变成了男子汉。她经常告诉孩子们要敢于表露自己的感情，别像父亲一样！”最近威廉与25岁的女友凯特·米德尔顿刚刚分手——他们交往了近五年；而哈里与21岁的切尔茜·达维相处三年，亲密得分不开。“他们似乎还在热恋之中！”有位目击者五月五日在英国班名顿马术比赛场看到他俩热情相拥、激情相吻时说：“从他们的眼神和身体语言，你一眼就看出他俩爱得有多深！”
在王室扮演什么角色？哈里与威廉正努力自己拿主意。“我不会找借口去海外享福。我想做点事帮助那些正在受苦的人，”这是 2005 年哈里的宣言。“在这个位子上，我觉得自己做了应做的一切。”如何纪念黛安娜忌日？他们完全有自己的想法，俩人都积极参与了策划。“在母亲10周年忌日到来之际，威廉和哈里刚好迈入成年，”王室一位资深人士说，“他们作好了准备，准备发表声明，陈述他们纪念母亲忌日的建议。”
有许多人说，与在“粘手店”吃饭时相比，今天的威廉与哈里长大了、成熟了。从某种意义上讲，两个讨人喜欢的孩子每天都在纪念母亲。“对黛安娜来说，最最重要的，就是看到孩子们成长得跟正常人一样。”一位家族好友说。“虽然全地球的人都认识这两张脸，其实他们很普通——这就是黛安娜的财富！”
1. normalcy n. 正常状态
2. blast n. 欢乐，满足
3. monarchy n. 君主制度
4. upset v. 使心烦意乱
5. trait [treit] n. 品质，性格
6. commitment n. 投入
7. lasagna n. 卤汁面条(上浇肉末番茄汁)
8. amusement n. 娱乐
9. regiment n. (军)团
10. tribute n. 颂词，称赞
11. proximity n. 接近，临近
12. subject n. 臣民，国民
13. aristocracy n. 贵族
14. insurgent adj. 反抗的，造反的