追憶20年：美國人為何對戴安娜念念不忘？

By+Jason+le+Miere

If evidence was required that people in the United States remain obsessed with Princess Diana 20 years after her tragic death in a Paris tunnel， there certainly is.2 NBCs Dateline was given over to a two-hour investigation into the “Life and Death of Princess Diana”in May， while HBO released a new documentary Diana， Our Mother： Her Life and Legacy in July.3 For weeks， ABC and CBS aired news specials on “The Peoples Princess.”4

Dianas legacy， of course， lives on through her two sons， Princes William and Harry， as well as Williams wife， Kate Middleton.5 Like Diana， all three enjoy huge popularity in the U.S.， with a favorability rating， according to a CNN poll taken before the Queens Diamond Jubilee6 in 2012， of 70 percent or more.

Dianas wedding to Charles in 1981 was watched by an estimated 17 million people in the U.S. It was the beginning of her 16 years as the most photographed woman in the world， during which she shook off the stuffy， stiff-upper-lip traditions of the British royal family and embraced a more American approach to public life and celebrity.7

“Americans were at her wedding fascinated by the fairy tale aspect of her romance with Charles，” said Arianne Chernock， a historian on the monarchy and associate professor of history at Boston University.8 “And then， of course， the tragedy of that fairy tale， and her in some ways very American commitment to being candid and questioning traditions and undercutting traditions，9 probably also appeals to American audiences.”

Dianas appeal in the U.S. can perhaps be best summarized by a photograph taken during a trip across the Atlantic in 1985. After talking makeup tips and drug problems with first lady Nancy Reagan， she dined at the White House with the elite of politics， business and Hollywood， who， according to an account from The New York Times， boasted of her“star quality” and “Cinderella quality.”10

At one point， she rose from her seat to take the hand of John Travolta11. A photo shows Diana reveling in the moment， as others in the room， including Ronald and Nancy Reagan， watch， fully captivated.12 Hailed as a style icon in the mold of Jackie Kennedy，13 she effortlessly skated between palaces， red carpets and， during frequent aid trips， hospitals.

“She herself really embraced America，” Chernock says. “She was kind of like Grace Kelly14. She had that kind of informality about her， media savvy15 and a desire to really connect with people and push the boundaries.”endprint

Dianas approach would eventually come to a tragic end. When attempting to evade the everpresent paparazzi，16 the car she was traveling in lost control at the entrance to a Paris tunnel in the early hours of August 31， 1997.

At the time， she was just 36， only just over a year older than Prince William is today. And at that point she was even more popular stateside17. Her funeral was watched by 33 million people， with 86 percent of all homes watching television during that time slot tuning in.18

Her early demise19， together with the tragic and， to some， still mysterious circumstances surrounding her death， helps explain why fascination with her remains strong. But her legacy goes much deeper in a country that her former butler20 said she likely would have moved to if she had not died.

“Diana did not invent an American obsession with the royal family， but she certainly took it to a new level，”Chernock says. “I think she was a real point of contact， very accessible way into thinking about the royal family. She was very human； she exposed her frailties， her weaknesses—and Americans， with our confessional culture， gravitate toward that.”21

The way Dianas legacy continues to resonate22 in America could affect how Prince Charles is viewed. His reputation has rebounded to a large extent from the beating it took23 during the demise of his marriage to Diana. But neither he nor his current wife， Camilla Parker-Bowles24， with whom he is widely acknowledged to have had an affair during his previous marriage， can match Diana when it comes to appealing to the masses—on either side of the Atlantic.

In 2012， Charless favorability rating in the U.S. was found to be well down in relation to his sons， at 57 percent， with Camilla， who could soon be queen， at just 36 percent.25 But Chernock believes the popularity of Dianas sons will shelter her former husband from any real backlash.26

“When we talk about the royal family， whos getting the attention？ Its not Charles， its his sons，” she says. “I think he at this point has kind of accepted that to some extent， and people will want the throne to be successful because theyre really interested in that next generation being successful.”

1. Princess Diana： 戴安娜王妃（1961—1997），是威爾士親王查爾斯（HRH Prince Charles）的第一任妻子，婚后積極投身于公共服務和慈善事業，有“The Peoples Princess”之稱。由于身為王室成員的壓力，以及查爾斯和卡米拉的舊情，二人的婚姻不久便走到盡頭。1997年戴安娜在法國巴黎因車禍去世。endprint

2. 如果想證明戴安娜王妃在巴黎一個隧道里不幸身亡的20年后，美國人仍對她癡情未改，證據當然有很多。

3. NBC：（美國）全國廣播公司（National Broadcasting Company）；Dateline：《日界線》，是美國一個新聞雜志節目；HBO： Home Box Office的縮寫，直譯為“家庭票房”，是美國一個付費有線和衛星電視聯播網，主要播出上映過的電影和獨立制播的電視劇。

4. ABC： 美國廣播公司（American Broadcasting Company）；CBS：哥倫比亞廣播公司（Columbia Broadcasting System）；air： v.（在廣播或電視上）播放，播出。

5. 當然，戴安娜身后的影響力在她的兩個兒子威廉王子和哈里王子，還有威廉王子的妻子凱特·米德爾頓身上得到了延續。live on： 繼續存在（活著）。

6. Queens Diamond Jubilee： 伊麗莎白二世鉆禧紀念（Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II），是2012年的一項國際慶祝活動，以紀念60年前（1952年）英女王伊麗莎白二世繼位。伊麗莎白二世在位期間，先后于1977年和2002年舉辦了銀禧紀念和金禧紀念慶祝活動。jubilee意為“大型慶典，周年紀念”。

7. stuffy： 古板的；stiff-upper-lip： 堅定沉著的，不露感情的；celebrity： 名人。

8. monarchy： // 皇室，王室；associate professor：副教授。

9. commitment to： 信奉，擁護；candid： 直率的，坦誠的；undercut： 削弱……的力量。

10. 在與第一夫人南希·里根探討了化妝技巧和藥物問題后，她與政界要人、商業精英和好萊塢名人一同在白宮就餐。根據《紐約時報》的描述，“她渾身都散發出明星氣質和灰姑娘般的特質。”Nancy Reagan： 南希·里根（1921—2016），是美國第40任總統羅納德·里根的夫人；elite： 精英；boast of： 夸耀；Cinderella： 灰姑娘。

11. John Travolta： 約翰·特拉沃爾塔（1954— ），美國演員、制片人，曾出演《低俗小說》、《矮子當道》等。

12. revel： 狂歡，陶醉；captivate： 迷住。

13. hail as： 稱贊……為；Jackie Kennedy： 杰奎琳·肯尼迪（1929—1994），昵稱杰基·肯尼迪，是美國第35任總統約翰·肯尼迪的夫人，她被譽為美國歷史上最美的第一夫人，也是20世紀60年代美國婦女心目中公認的時尚引領者。

14. Grace Kelly： 格蕾絲·凱利（1929—1982），美國女演員，憑借《鄉下姑娘》獲得奧斯卡影后殊榮，后成為摩納哥王妃。

15. savvy： 悟性，理解力。

16. evade： 躲避；ever-present： 無時無刻不在的；paparazzi： 狗仔隊。

17. stateside： 在美國國內。

18. time slot：（電視或廣播電臺的）播放時段；tune in：收看，收聽。

19. demise： 死亡。

20. butler： 男管家。

21. frailty： // 弱點；confessional： 懺悔的，自白的；gravitate toward： 向……傾斜。

22. resonate： 產生共鳴，使回響。

23. take a beating： （因做得不好或被批評而）遭受損失，遭受打擊。

24. Camilla Parker-Bowles： 卡米拉·帕克-鮑爾斯，現稱“康沃爾公爵夫人卡米拉殿下”，是查爾斯的第二任妻子。

25. 2012年，查爾斯在美國的支持率為57%，與他兒子們相比明顯有所下降，而即將成為王后的卡米拉的支持率僅為36%。

26. 但是徹諾克認為，戴安娜兒子們的受歡迎程度會保護她的前夫免受任何真正的抵制。backlash： 強烈抵制。endprint