Princess Diana tried to shield Prince Harry from ‘spare’ label, James Patterson says: ‘She was troubled by it’

Patterson, one of the bestselling authors in history, has co-written a new book titled 'Diana, William, and Harry: The Heartbreaking Story of a Princess and Mother'

By Stephanie Nolasco | Fox News

Princess Diana was proud of her two sons – one who is destined to be king and the other who has been coined "the spare" by the press.

戴安娜王妃为自己的两个孩子自豪—一位注定会成为国王，而另一位被媒体创造了一个词“多余人”。

Knowing that Prince William would receive a special kind of favoritism within the monarchy as second in line to the throne, she was determined to shield Prince Harry from the ‘spare’ label.

她知道威廉王子作为王位第二顺位继承人会受到君主制的特殊偏爱，所以她决心保护哈里王子不被贴上“多余”的标签。

"I think she tried to control it as much as she could," James Patterson told Fox News Digital. "I think she was troubled about it. That’s a standard thing for families. One of the kids who do better in school or become a better athlete seems to be a little more charming and lovable. How do you make the other kids feel that they’re just enough? It happens pretty much to all families. And in this case, the stakes are much higher because one ispresumablygoing to be king someday."

詹姆斯·帕特森告诉福克斯新闻数字频道:“我认为她试图尽可能地控制影响。我想她对此很苦恼。家里面都会有这样的事情，一个在学校表现更好或能够成为一个更好的运动员的孩子似乎更有魅力，更可爱。你怎么让其他孩子觉得他们自己也很好？几乎所有家庭都会这样。在威廉和哈利王子的案例中，风险要高得多，因为总有一天有人会成为国王。”

presumably /prɪˈzjuːməbli/ 很可能；大概；想必是

"I think she was very aware of the situation," Patterson continued. "She had experienced how difficult it was to be in her role as a princess… She wanted to have her own life. And that was very hard for her. She didn’t want the boys to experience the same struggles she faced. She tried as much as she could to control it. She simply wanted them to be normal kids and understand that the real world doesn’t operate in the same way it worked within the palace. They shouldn’t see themselves as special or different."

“我认为她非常清楚这种情况，”帕特森继续说。“她体验过作为一个王妃的角色有多么艰难，她想要有自己的生活。这对她来说很难。她不想让孩子们经历和她一样的挣扎。她尽她所能控制它。她只是想让他们成为正常的孩子，并明白现实世界的运作方式和宫殿里的不一样。他们不应该认为自己很特别或与众不同。”

Patterson is among one of the bestselling authors in history and has written or co-written hundreds of books. The 75-year-old, who reliably turns out several books a year, now has his sights set on the late royal. His latest book, titled "Diana, William, and Harry: The Heartbreaking Story of a Princess and Mother," focuses on Diana’s fierce devotion to her sons before her sudden death in 1997 at age 36 from injuries she sustained in a Paris car crash.

帕特森是历史上最畅销的作家之一，已经独立完成或与人合著了数百本书。这位75岁的老人每年都会出几本书，现在他把目光投向了已故的王室成员。他的最新著作《戴安娜、威廉和哈里:一位王妃和母亲的令人心碎的故事》集中讲述了已故36岁戴安娜王妃在1997年因在巴黎的一场车祸中受伤而突然去世之前对儿子们的极度奉献。

Patterson said he researched numerous archives from England from over the years to paint an accurate portrait of Diana, who believed her greatest role in life was that of a mother.

帕特森说，他多年来研究了来自英国的大量档案，用以准确地描绘出戴安娜的肖像，他认为戴安娜生命中最重要的角色是母亲。

archive /ˈɑːkaɪv/ n.存档材料，档案；档案室；v.把……存档，把……归档

"There have already been too many books about Diana as a princess," he explained. "What I found interesting here, especially when we started looking at the UK press archives, which has a lot of material that was never really released to the states, was Diana as a mother. I think that’s as close to who she was and where she wanted her heart to be. I do think she liked some of the fantasy trappings of being a princess, especially early on. But ultimately, she was a mother who was at odds with the crown."

他解释说:“关于戴安娜王妃的书已经太多了。“我在这里发现了一个有趣的现象，尤其是当我们开始查看英国媒体档案时，其中有很多从未真正向美国公开的材料，那就是戴安娜作为母亲的身份。我觉得这是她最接近的身份和她的心所在。我确实认为她喜欢一些作为王妃身份幻想的身外之物，尤其是在早期。但最终，她是一个与王冠格格不入的母亲。”

trappings /ˈtræpɪŋz/ n. ~ (of sth) （与某一处境、职业或社会地位有关的）身外之物，标志，服装• They enjoyed all the trappings of wealth. 他们享有所有象征财富的东西。

Be at odds with：与···格格不入

As a parent, Diana defied tradition. She was a doting, hands-on mother who openly showed love and affection toward both of her sons. Not only did she hug them frequently, but she enjoyed taking them to school, as well as amusement parks and even fast-food restaurants where they could get a taste of life outside the palace.

作为一名家长，戴安娜打破了传统。她是一个宠爱的，亲力亲为的母亲，公开地对她的两个儿子表现出爱和感情。她不仅经常拥抱他们，还喜欢带他们去上学，去游乐园，甚至去快餐店，在那里他们可以体验一下白金汉宫之外的生活。

Defy /dɪˈfaɪ/ v. 1.违抗；反抗；蔑视 •I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers. 我可不敢不听老师的话。2.不可能，无法（相信、解释、描绘等）•The beauty of the scene defies description. 景色之美简直难以描绘。 3.经受住；顶住；抗住•The baby boy defied all the odds and survived (= stayed alive when it seemed certain that he would die) . 这名男婴九死一生活了下来。4. I DEFY YOU/ANYONE TO DO STH 激，挑动（某人尽力做你认为不可能的事）•I defy anyone not to cry at the end of the film. 我倒要看看有谁在电影结尾时不哭。

doting /ˈdəʊtɪŋ/ adj.溺爱的；宠爱的

"The queen didn’t get it," said Patterson. "It was like, ‘Why would she do that?’ I think Diana always found herself on the outside looking in and was often at odds in terms of how the kids were brought up in that family. She once said that the first time she experienced real happiness was when she held William in her arms for the first time. It was the first time she felt complete as a person. Even today, the boys describe how she was the best mother in the world. I think that’s her true legacy."

帕特森说：“女王不能理解，她可能会想‘她为什么要这么做?’我认为戴安娜总是发现自己是局外人往里面看，在孩子们如何在那个家庭长大的问题上，她经常和别人意见不一致。她曾经说过，她第一次体验到真正的幸福是当她第一次把威廉抱在怀里的时候。这是她第一次觉得自己是一个完整的人。直到今天，孩子们还说她是世界上最好的母亲。我认为这才是她真正的遗产。”

Diana, who was hounded by the press and would later be chased to her death by paparazzi, was aware that her sons would not be able to escape the glaring spotlight; therefore, she came up with creative ways for them to address the press.

戴安娜一直受到媒体的追逐，后来还被狗仔队追到出车祸死亡。她知道她的儿子们将无法逃离耀眼的聚光灯，因此，她想出了一些有创意的方法来应对媒体。

hound /haʊnd/ 1.追踪；追逐；纠缠•They were hounded day and night by the press. 他们日夜遭到新闻界的跟踪。2.ˌhound sb ˈout (of sth)ˈhound sb from sth逼迫某人离职（或离开某地）

"She wanted to shield them from some of the things that were troubling her within her role," said Patterson. "William, as a little kid, hated the photographers. There’s one scene in the book where they’re having a little vacation and the press is everywhere. It was a constant click, click, click of cameras. At one point, they’re throwing water balloons at the press boats. Diana referred to herself as the chief loader. It was humorous, but also tragic."

帕特森说:“她想保护他们，让他们远离她生活中困扰她的一些事情。”威廉小时候很讨厌摄影师。书中有一个场景，他们在度假但到处都是媒体，摄像机不停地咔嚓咔嚓响。有一次，他们向媒体船扔水球。戴安娜称自己为装弹手。很幽默，但也很悲剧。”

"The whole thing of being in the eye of the press and having to be a role model, even as a kid, was difficult," said Patterson. "She didn’t want the kids to suffer through that. She wanted them to be as normal as they could be. She insisted on taking them to McDonald’s because that’s what kids did. Queen Elizabeth wound up going to McDonald’s, but she didn’t understand. She didn’t think the burgers were that good."

帕特森说：“成为媒体的焦点，成为榜样这件事，即使对孩子来说也是很困难。她不想让孩子们经历这些。她希望他们能像正常人一样，她坚持带他们去麦当劳，因为孩子们都这么做。伊丽莎白女王最后去了麦当劳，但她不理解。她觉得汉堡没那么好吃。”

"Diana tried to explain that it was about the Happy Meal and the toys that came with it. But she also took them to homeless shelters. She wanted them to see the other side. Not everyone drives around in fancy cars. A lot of people have no money… She also explained that not everybody likes them, which might be tough for a kid to swallow, but she insisted on them experiencing the real world."

“戴安娜试图解释说，这是关于快乐儿童餐和附赠的玩具。但她也把他们带到流浪者收容所。她想让他们看到另一面。不是每个人都开着豪车。她还解释说，并不是所有人都喜欢他们，这对一个孩子来说可能很难接受，但她坚持让他们体验真实的世界。”

Like many moms, Diana had special nicknames for William and Harry, and Patterson admitted they were unique.

和许多母亲一样，戴安娜给威廉和哈里取了特别的昵称，帕特森承认他们是独一无二的。

"She called William DDG – ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous,’" he said. "She probably didn’t know he was going to lose his hair so early. She called Harry GKH or ‘Good King Harry.’"

他说：“她称威廉为DDG—‘美得要死’。她可能不知道威廉这么早就会掉头发。她称哈里为GKH，即‘好国王哈里’。”

Drop Dead Gorgeous 1.That woman is drop dead gorgeous. 那个女人美得要死。

According to Patterson, William was "a handful" who did not like being told how to behave. William allegedly once responded, "I don’t want to be king." When Harry quipped "Well, I’ll do the job instead of you then," the nickname was born.

根据帕特森的说法，威廉是一个“难缠的人”，他不喜欢别人告诉他该怎么表现。据说威廉曾回应说:“我不想当国王。”当哈利打趣地说:“好吧，那我就代替你来做这件事。”这个绰号就这样诞生了。

Handful n. 一把；少数；<非>难控制的人；棘手之事

Following her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996, Diana was thinking about the future. She questioned her parenting skills and wondered if she was doing enough for her children. She was also determined to carve out a new life for herself, one where she could finally escape some of the royal trappings that had held her back during her doomed marriage. According to Patterson, Diana considered moving to California, where she felt Americans would embrace her with open arms.

1996年与查尔斯王子离婚后，戴安娜开始考虑未来。她质疑自己的育儿技巧，怀疑自己是否为孩子做得足够多。她还决心为自己开创一种新的生活，在这种生活中，她终于可以摆脱在她注定失败的婚姻中阻碍她的一些王室束缚。据帕特森说，戴安娜曾考虑过搬到加州，她觉得那里的美国人会张开双臂拥抱她。

"The whole situation during the last couple of years was overwhelming for her," said Patterson. "She was trying to figure out where to go from there. She was getting involved more socially than she was in the past. But she was concerned."

帕特森说:“过去几年的整个情况让她不知所措。“她在想接下来该怎么办。她比过去参与了更多的社交活动。但她很担心。”

William was 15 and Harry was just 12 when their mother died. An estimated 2.5 billion people around the globe would tune in and watch the boys walk behind their mother’s coffin. Today, they lead separate lives as they carve out their own paths.

母亲去世时，威廉15岁，哈里12岁。据估计，全球将有25亿人收看葬礼，观看两个男孩走在母亲的棺木后面。如今，他们各自过着各自的生活，开拓着自己的道路。

William, 40, has taken on more royal duties in support of his grandmother, 96, who has been suffering from mobility issues. As for Harry, the 37-year-old and his wife Meghan Markle stepped back as senior royals in 2020. They now reside in California with their two children – a place that Diana once considered for her future.

为了支持96岁的祖母，40岁的威廉承担了更多的王室职责，因为祖母行动不便。至于37岁的哈里王子和他的妻子梅根·马克尔，他们在2020年退出高级王室。他们现在和两个孩子住在加州——戴安娜曾考虑过她未来的地方。

Patterson said he wondered what Diana would have thought of their relationship today, one that has been plagued with ongoing rumors of an allegedfallout.

帕特森说，他想知道戴安娜今天会怎么看待他们的关系，他们的关系一直被传言所困扰。

fallout /ˈfɔːlaʊt/ n.1.（核爆炸后的）放射性坠尘2.后果；余波

"Growing up, the boys couldn’t have been closer," said Patterson. "They were so tight and caring of one another. And when they lost their mother, they leaned on each other. Now one has committed to the crown and tradition. The other said, ‘I can’t take this. I have to have my own life.’"

帕特森说：“在成长过程中，两个男孩之间的关系非常亲密。他们很亲密，互相关心。当他们失去母亲时，他们互相依靠。现在，一个人已经委身于王位和传统。另一个说:‘我不能肩负这些。我必须有自己的生活。’”

Patterson hopes his book will show a different side to Diana, one that he said is often overlooked.

帕特森希望他的书能展现戴安娜不一样的一面，他说这是经常被忽视的一面。

"People are still interested in Diana – I don’t think that’s ever going to change," said Patterson. "But if you want to understand her, I think you need to look at the most important aspect of her life and the way she saw herself, which was a mother. She always knew it would be part of her role. But it was much more than duty for her. And I think her sons prove that today."

帕特森说:“人们仍然对戴安娜感兴趣—我认为这不会改变。但如果你想了解她，我认为你需要看看她生活中最重要的方面，以及她看待自己的方式，她是一个母亲。她一直都知道这是她角色的一部分。但对她来说，这不仅仅是责任。我认为她的儿子们今天就证明了这一点。”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

英文链接：https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/princess-diana-tried-shield-prince-harry-from-spare-label