介绍:
本周三是一年一度的英国国会开幕大典，按惯例，这个仪式要由女王主持。于是，89岁的英女王乘坐金色马车，风尘仆仆，从白金汉宫来到了国会，第62次主持国会开幕。但问题来了，明明是一个展现皇家风范和威严的好机会，女王怎么……看起来……一点也不精神呢？下面，我们就来揭晓答案。
It's a task that would wear out any 89-year-old. Wearing 15lb of velvet and ermine – not to mention a 2.5lb crown – the Queen faced sweltering conditions as she officially opened Parliament for a 62nd time. Wearing a dab of pink lipstick and light eye shadow to match her silver handbag, shoes, necklace and bracelet, the monarch also had to contend with the chamber’s bright lights – but still delivered the address with her usual grace.
这一段说，像女王这样出席国会大典，换成哪个89岁的老太太都一样吃不消。她光是一身白色的天鹅绒和貂皮就重达15磅，也就是13斤半；更别提头上还顶着2斤多重、镶满了钻石、宝石和金银的皇冠了。女王出门之前还化了粉色的唇彩和浅色眼影，带着浓妆，老太太还得忍受大厅里强光灯的照射。还好女王身边有她的夫君——菲利普亲王相伴，才没有弄得太过狼狈。
The Imperial State Crown worn by Her Majesty had been transported from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen typically wears it for at least two half-hour sessions so her hairdresser and osteopath can gauge its effects on her head and back. The monarch also likes it to arrive early before delivering her speech, to allow Crown Jeweller Martin Swift to give the crown one final check.
但这依然只是女王受到的折磨的一小部分，其余的，要从她头上的皇冠说起。这个皇冠是从伦敦塔被运到白金汉宫的，女王出发之前，在宫里就要戴两次，每一次都要顶两斤多的皇冠半个小时。戴上之后，她的发型师和骨科医生，将分别调整皇冠在头上和从背后看过去的效果。而且女王每次都要比政府官员提前到，目的只有一个，她要让皇冠珠宝师（真的有这么个头衔）马丁-斯威夫特给王冠上的每一块宝石进行最后的检查。
画报君认为，英国皇室已经超越了“要风度不要温度”，直接就达到了“要风度不要命”的新境界！最后，画报君再跟大家分享几个关于皇冠，你必须要知道的几件事。
Here's what you need to know about the stunning piece of history:
1. It is 177 years old.
As the Queen's best known crown, the Imperial State Crown was originally made for Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838. An earlier version of the crown – weighing a whopping 7 lbs., 6 oz. – was destroyed under Oliver Cromwell in the mid-17th century, who ordered the abolition of the monarchy and the sale of the crown jewels.
作为女王众多皇冠中最有名的一座，帝国皇冠最初是在1838年为维多利亚女王的加冕礼而制作的，今年已经177岁高龄了。其实这座皇冠还有更早的一个版本，重量也更高，达到了7磅6盎司，可惜在17世纪中叶，被主张废除帝制的克伦威尔给毁了，毁了之后把所有皇冠上的宝石都抠出来卖了。
2. It contains the world's fourth-largest polished diamond.
Nestled in the "brow" of the crown – just below the breathtaking Black Prince's Ruby – is the huge Cullinan Diamond, which was found in Africa in 1905, weighing 3,601 carats. The stone was later cut into several pieces, with the "Cullinan II" – at 317.4 carats – earning a spot in the Imperial State Crown. For extra sparkle, the crown is also decorated with 4 rubies, 11 emeralds, 17 sapphires, 277 pearls and more than 3,000 smaller diamonds.
在这座帝国皇冠上有两块美得让人窒息的宝石，一块是黑太子红宝石，另一块就是巨大的库里南2号钻石。库里南钻石在1905年在非洲被发现，重达3601克拉。这块钻石后来被切割成了几块，其中，317.4克拉的库里南2号镶嵌在了皇冠上。为了让它看起来格外闪闪发光，王冠周围还点缀了4块宝石，11块翡翠，17块蓝宝石，277颗珍珠和超过3000块小一些的钻石。好吧，现在我理解女王为什么拼命也要戴着这个王冠上镜了。
3. It got a makeover.
To make it more comfortable for the then-27-year-old monarch's coronation, the crown underwent a redesign: The arches were lowered, making it lighter and "feminizing" it.
什么？皇冠也makeover，化过妆？没错。现在这位伊丽莎白女王登基的时候只有27岁，为了让皇冠看起来更加女性化，英国王室对它进行了重新设计。支撑王冠的拱形被压低了一点，让它看起来更轻，更加符合伊丽莎白加冕时的年轻形象。
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