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| US President George W.
Bush, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, first lady Laura Bush and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales pose
at the White House as they arrive for the social dinner on
the second day of the royals' eight-day visit to the US in
Washintgton, DC.(AFP) |
Prince Charles pronounced himself "still here" and
"alive" Wednesday on his arrival at the White House for a visit showing
off his new bride, Camilla. The Duchess of Cornwall, hoping to impress
American Diana-philes on her first overseas trip as a British royal, was
decidedly more enthusiastic.
Greeted by President Bush and his wife, Laura, with a no-pomp welcome,
the all-smiles Camilla could be heard declaring something Mrs. Bush said
was "fabulous." As the foursome headed inside for an intimate lunch,
Camilla briefly lagged behind, straying off the red carpet and showing the
jostling media horde a shy grin and a little wave.
There was no shortage of pageantry for the royal
couple in the evening. A rare White House black-tie
evening featured buffalo for dinner, music by
cellist Yo-Yo Ma and dancing with several dozen luminaries from the worlds
of politics, history, writing, diplomacy and sports.
With an American tour that began Tuesday in New York, Charles and
Camilla were looking to stoke trans-Atlantic enthusiasm for their new
marriage. Camilla was long reviled in the British press as the woman who
broke up Princess Diana's marriage to Charles, but has begun gaining
acceptance with increasingly high-profile appearances since the longtime
lovers wed in April.
The visit invited comparisons to Charles' 1985
U.S. trip with Diana. Then, the young princess wowed America with her
demure
smiles, fashion
sense and well-remembered turn around the White House dance floor with
John Travolta.
On Wednesday, no military bands or ceremony heralded the royals'
arrival - only the President and first lady waiting in the White House
driveway. The duchess and the first lady both chose unadorned suits,
Camilla's of navy blue with a kick-pleated skirt, Laura Bush's in tan and
more tailored.
Other than the two countries' ambassadors, the only guests invited to
the lunch of lemon sole at tables in the Bushes' private dining room were
members of the president's family, including his mother, Barbara.
Then a lavish gift exchange. The Bushes presented custom-made
his-and-hers leather saddles, each engraved with the crests of Charles'
and Camilla's titles. The royal couple brought Winston Churchill essays
and a cachepot of English bone china.
(Agencies) |
周三，英國(guó)王儲(chǔ)查爾斯偕同夫人卡米拉抵達(dá)白宮時(shí)說：“我還在這里，我還活著”，并“隆重推出”他的新婚妻子卡米拉。這位康沃爾公爵夫人希望通過此次訪問給美國(guó)眾多的黛安娜崇拜者們留下好的印象，所以她表現(xiàn)得更加熱情，這也是她代表英國(guó)皇室的第一次海外訪問。
美國(guó)總統(tǒng)布什和妻子勞拉在低調(diào)的歡迎儀式上問候卡米拉，笑容滿面的卡米拉說了些什么，勞拉稱之為“太難以置信了”。當(dāng)主賓四人準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)入白宮共進(jìn)午餐時(shí)，卡米拉一個(gè)人落在后面，離開紅地毯，對(duì)著蜂擁而上的媒體大軍害羞的露齒一笑，并揮了揮手。
晚上為宴請(qǐng)這對(duì)英國(guó)皇室夫婦而舉行的晚會(huì)盛大而華麗。白宮很少舉行這樣的正式晚會(huì)，野牛餐、大提琴演奏家馬友友的演奏，政治、歷史、寫作、外交和體育等方面的杰出人物聚聚一堂。
周二，查爾斯王儲(chǔ)和夫人卡米拉抵達(dá)此次美國(guó)之行的第一站——紐約，他們希望通過這次訪問在大西洋兩岸激起人們對(duì)他倆新婚的熱情。長(zhǎng)期以來，卡米拉一直受到英國(guó)媒體的斥責(zé)，被視為是破壞查爾斯王儲(chǔ)和黛安娜王妃美好婚姻的第三者，但是，這對(duì)相愛多年的情侶在今年4月結(jié)婚后，卡米拉不斷高姿態(tài)地出現(xiàn)在公眾面前，漸漸為英國(guó)民眾所接受。
查爾斯王儲(chǔ)夫婦此次訪問難免讓人們和1985年查爾斯王儲(chǔ)和當(dāng)時(shí)的黛安娜王妃一起訪美作比較。當(dāng)時(shí)，年輕的黛安娜王妃以其端莊的笑容，時(shí)尚感以及在白宮和約翰·特拉沃爾塔的共舞轟動(dòng)了整個(gè)美國(guó)。
周三，兩位皇室成員到來的時(shí)候沒有軍樂隊(duì)，也沒有歡迎儀式，只有布什總統(tǒng)和第一夫人等候在白宮外的車道上。康沃爾公爵夫人和第一夫人裝束都很自然，卡米拉身穿海軍藍(lán)百褶裙，而勞拉穿得是做工考究的黃褐色禮服。
除了兩國(guó)的大使，受邀參加在布什私人餐廳舉行的檬鰈午餐的只有布什的家人，其中包括他的母親巴巴拉。
隨后雙方交換了豐富的禮物。布什夫婦送給查爾斯王儲(chǔ)夫婦的是定做的情侶皮制馬鞍，上面刻著查爾斯王儲(chǔ)和卡米拉的封號(hào)。查爾斯王儲(chǔ)夫婦回贈(zèng)的是丘吉爾文集和一個(gè)英國(guó)骨灰瓷的花瓶。
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站薛曉文編譯) |
Updated: 2005-11-04 09:46
