Monaco's Prince Albert II (L) and Princess Charlene stand at the altar in front of a priest during their religious wedding ceremony at the Palace in Monaco July 2, 2011.(Agencies) |
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With a wink and a smile, Monaco's ruler Prince Albert married South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock on Saturday in a ceremony attended by a who's who of European royalty and the international elite. The 53-year-old married Wittstock, 33, in the courtyard of his palace at the foot of a vast white-marble double staircase lined with white flowers. Some 3,500 guests sat outside to watch the service on giant TV screens. Albert's sisters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, both dressed in pink, smiled as they watched the couple marry in front of a crowd that included French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld and opera singer Renee Fleming. The long white train of Wittstock's Giorgio Armani duchess satin gown, encrusted with thousands of tiny crystals, spilled over the red carpet. The groom wore the white dress uniform of Monaco's Carabinieri royal guard. "It was very elegant, very moving," supermodel Naomi Campbell, in a one-shouldered pale green dress, told TFI television. After they exchanged vows, Albert winked at his bride, who smiled shyly. Sitting on red velvet chairs, they held hands as a South African singer sang the Click Song, made famous by the late Miriam Makeba. The wedding is the first of a ruling prince in Monaco since Albert's father, Prince Rainier III, married Hollywood star Grace Kelly in 1956. Rainier transformed Monaco from a faded gambling center into a billionaires' haven, using his marriage to Kelly to infuse the tiny principality with film-star glamour. Her death in a car crash in 1982 revived talk of the legendary 13th-century curse of his dynasty -- the Grimaldis -- that has haunted his family during its seven centuries of rule. According to legend, a Flemish woman raped by a Grimaldi cursed the family for eternity never to find happiness in marriage. Caroline and Stephanie have had a series of high-profile and disastrous marriages. Albert himself has been linked with a succession of models and actresses, and has admitted to fathering two illegitimate children. Just days ago, rumors of discontent threatened to mar the festivities. The palace strongly denied a report in the French weekly L'Express that Wittstock tried to skip town on a one-way flight to South Africa, and that it took "infinite persuasion" by the prince and his entourage to change her mind. (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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摩納哥國家元首阿爾貝二世親王和南非游泳健將查倫?維特施托克上周六在歡笑聲中舉行了婚禮。到場的還有歐洲皇室名人成員以及國際知名人士。 在白色花朵裝飾的巨型白色大理石雙層樓梯腳下的王宮庭院里,53歲的阿爾貝二世親王迎娶了33歲的新娘維特施托克。大約3500名賓客受邀在場外通過大屏幕觀禮。 阿爾貝二世親王的姐妹、卡羅琳公主和斯蒂芬妮公主都身著粉色禮服,面帶微笑。到場的還有法國總統(tǒng)尼古拉?薩科齊、香奈爾設(shè)計師卡爾?拉格菲爾德以及歌劇女歌手蕾妮?弗萊明。 維特施托克身著長裙擺白色綢緞嫁衣,由喬治?阿瑪尼設(shè)計,上面鑲嵌有數(shù)千顆小水晶,裙擺拖在紅色的地毯上。新郎身著摩納哥皇家衛(wèi)隊?wèi)棻咨品?/p> 身著淡綠色單肩禮服的超模納奧米?坎貝爾對TF1法國電視一臺說:“婚紗太美了,十分動人。” 宣誓結(jié)束后,阿爾貝二世親王向靦腆微笑的新娘使眼色示意。伴隨著南非歌手的一曲Click Song,他們手挽手坐上紅色天鵝絨椅上。該歌曲經(jīng)已故歌手米瑞安?馬卡貝演唱后走紅。 摩納哥上次為執(zhí)政親王舉辦婚典是在1956年,當(dāng)時阿爾貝二世親王的父親—蘭尼埃三世親王迎娶了好萊塢明星格雷絲?凱莉。蘭尼埃三世親王將摩納哥從一個日趨衰退的賭國轉(zhuǎn)變成了億萬富翁的樂土,借助與凱莉的婚姻賦予了這個小國電影明星般的魅力。 1982年,凱莉在一場車禍中去世。這又激起了有關(guān)13世紀(jì)王室詛咒傳說的討論。格里馬爾迪家族執(zhí)政的七個世紀(jì)以來,一直受此詛咒困擾。該傳說認(rèn)為,一位被格里馬爾迪家族的一名成員強(qiáng)奸的弗蘭德婦女詛咒他的家族永遠(yuǎn)婚姻不幸。 卡羅琳公主和斯蒂芬妮公主高調(diào)舉辦過多場婚禮,但是婚姻都很不幸。阿爾貝二世親王與多位女模特和女演員有過曖昧關(guān)系,還承認(rèn)有兩個私生子。 就在幾天前,有傳言稱新娘對新郎不滿,婚禮有可能告吹。法國《快訊》周刊此前報道稱,維特施托克設(shè)法搭乘單程飛往南非的航班逃婚,在親王及其隨從的再三勸說下她才改變主意,而摩納哥王室強(qiáng)烈否認(rèn)了這一報道。 相關(guān)閱讀 英國婆婆指責(zé)準(zhǔn)兒媳“無教養(yǎng)”瘋傳網(wǎng)絡(luò) (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 實(shí)習(xí)生史莉萍 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: who's who: the outstanding or influential persons in a community, industry, profession, or other group(名人的總稱,名人錄) train: something drawn along, such as the long back section of a dress that trails along the floor behind the wearer(拖裾,裙裾,長禮服的曳地部分) principality: 公國,侯國 illegitimate: 私生的 mar:毀壞,損害 entourage: (統(tǒng)稱)隨行人員,隨從 |