英国女王伊丽莎白二世的另类特权

It&apos；s true that Queen Elizabeth II as the British head of state is largely ceremonial， and the Monarch no longer holds any serious power from day to day. But when the British government declares war， or regulates the civil service， or signs a treaty， it is doing so only on her authority. And she also wields1） some of the prerogative2） powers herself—as well as numerous other unique powers， ranging from the surprising to the utterly bizarre. The following are four weird powers of Queen Elizabeth II.

She owns all swans on the River Thames.

Technically， all unmarked swans in open water belong to the Queen， though the Crown "exercises her ownership" only "on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries3），" according to the official website of the Royal Family.

Today this tradition is observed4） during the annual "Swan Upping"， in which swans on the River Thames are caught， ringed5）， and set free again as part of a census6） of the swan population.

It&apos；s a highly ceremonial affair， taking place over five days. "Swan uppers" wear traditional uniforms and row upriver in six skiffs7） accompanied by the Queen&apos；s Swan Marker.

"The swans are also given a health check and ringed with individual identification numbers by The Queen&apos；s Swan Warden， a Professor of Ornithology8） at the University of Oxford&apos；s Department of Zoology，" according to the Royal Family website.

She also has dominion9） over all dolphins in British waters.

The Queen still technically owns all the sturgeons10）， whales， and dolphins in the waters around the UK， in a rule that dates back to a statute11） from 1324， during the reign of King Edward II， according to Time.

According to the article： "This statute is still valid today， and sturgeons， porpoises， whales， and dolphins are recognised as &apos；fishes royal&apos；： when they are captured within 3 miles （about 5 km） of UK shores or wash ashore， they may be claimed12） on behalf of the Crown. Generally， when brought into port， a sturgeon is sold in the usual way， and the purchaser， as a gesture of loyalty， requests the honour of it being accepted by Elizabeth."

The law is still observed： In 2004， a Welsh fisherman was investigated by the police after catching a 10-foot sturgeon， the BBC reported at the time.

She can drive without a licence.

Driving licenses are issued in the Queen&apos；s name， yet she is the only person in the United Kingdom who doesn&apos；t legally need a license to drive or a number plate on her cars， according to Time.endprint

Despite not being required to have a license， the Queen is comfortable behind the wheel13）， having learned to drive during World War II when she operated a first-aid truck for the Women&apos；s Auxilary Territorial Service. （As a result of the Queen&apos；s training， she can also change a spark plug， Time notes）.

Queen Elizabeth II isn&apos；t afraid to show off her driving skills， either. In 1998， she surprised King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia （then still a prince） by driving him around in her country seat of Balmoral.

Former British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles recounted the meeting in the Sunday Times： "As instructed， the crown prince14） climbed into the front seat of the front Land Rover， with his interpreter in the seat behind. To his surprise， the Queen climbed into the driving seat， turned the ignition15） and drove off. Women are not—yet—allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia， and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman， let alone a queen. His nervousness only increased as the Queen， an army driver in wartime， accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads， talking all the time. Through his interpreter， the crown prince implored16） the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead."

She has two birthdays.

When you&apos；re the British head of state， one birthday just isn&apos；t enough. The Queen&apos；s official birthday is celebrated on a Saturday in June17）， though her actual birthday is on April 21.

"Official celebrations to mark a sovereign&apos；s birthday have often been held on a day other than the actual birthday， particularly when the actual birthday has not been in the summer，" according to the Royal Mint.

Both birthdays are celebrated in suitable style， too. Her actual birthday "is marked publicly by gun salutes18） in central London at midday，" according to the official website of the British Monarchy.

For her "official" birthday celebrations， she "is joined by other members of the Royal Family at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade， which moves between Buckingham Palace， The Mall19）， and Horseguards&apos； Parade."

英國女王伊丽莎白二世作为英国元首基本上是礼仪性的，这是事实。随着时光流逝，皇室不再掌握重权，这也不假。但是当英国政府要宣战、制定行政法律或是签订条约时，都要有女王的授权才能执行。而且，女王还亲自行使着一些特权，以及许多独一无二的其他权力，其中有的令人大吃一惊，有的则十分怪异。下面就是英国女王伊丽莎白二世的四项另类特权。

泰晤士河上所有的天鹅都归女王所有。

理论上，开阔水面上所有没有标记主人的天鹅都是属于女王的，虽然据皇室官方网站报道，女王陛下只针对“泰晤士河的某些水域以及周边的支流行使她的所有权”。

如今一年一度的“数天鹅”活动就遵循了这一传统。在该活动中，人们抓住泰晤士河的天鹅，给它们套上脚环再放飞，以此作为普查天鹅数量的部分工作。endprint

这项活动非常正式，耗时超过五天。参加“数天鹅”活动的工作人员身着传统制服，划着六只小艇，在女王天鹅标记官员的陪同下来到河上游。

“人们还会对天鹅进行健康检查，由女王的天鹅守护长——来自牛津大学动物学系的一位鸟类学教授——给它们套上标有各自身份号码的脚环。”皇室官方网站报道说。

女王还拥有英国水域

所有海豚的所有权。

根据《时代周刊》报道，依据一项法规，理论上女王还拥有英国周围水域内所有的鲟鱼、鲸鱼和海豚。该项法规可以追溯到1324年国王爱德华二世统治时期。

根据该文章报道：“这项法规至今仍然有效，而鲟鱼、鼠海豚、鲸鱼和海豚都被视为‘皇家鱼类，如果这些鱼在英国海岸周围三英里（约五公里）内被捕到，或被冲到海岸上后被捉到，就可能会被皇室宣示所有权。一般来说，被带到港口的鲟鱼可以进行常规买卖，而购买者为了表示忠诚，需要向皇室请求殊荣，得到女王对这场交易的许可。”

这项法律仍被人们所遵守：2004年，威尔士的一个渔民在捕到一条十英尺长的鲟鱼后遭到了警方的调查，当时BBC还对此事进行过报道。

女王无需驾照就能开车。

根据《时代周刊》的报道，驾照是以女王的名义颁发的，但女王是英国境内唯一无需驾照就能合法驾车的人，她的车也无需车牌号。

尽管英国女王不需要驾照，但她开起车来还颇为怡然自得，因为她在第二次世界大战期间就学会了开车，当时为妇女支援服务队开过急救卡车。（据《时代周刊》指出，因为受过训练，女王还会更换火花塞。）

伊丽莎白二世也无惧于展示她的车技。1998年，她驾车带着沙特阿拉伯国王阿卜杜勒（当时他还是个王子）绕着她的乡间宅邸巴尔莫勒尔庄园兜了一圈，把他给吓了一跳。

在《星期日泰晤士报》的报道中，前英国大使谢拉尔德·考博·科尔斯讲述了当时的那场会面。“这位王位继承人遵照指令坐到了路虎的副驾驶座上，他的翻译坐在了后座上。令他吃惊的是，女王坐上驾驶座，发动了汽车，就把车开走了。在沙特阿拉伯，女性还不允许开车，而且阿卜杜勒也不习惯坐女士开的车，更别说开车的是位女王了。他越来越紧张，因为战时曾是军队驾驶员的女王开着路虎，沿着狭窄的苏格兰庄园小路一路加速，嘴里还一直说个不停。王子殿下通过翻译不断恳求女王降低车速，把精力集中到眼前的道路上。”

她有两个生日。

倘若你是英国元首，那过一个生日可是不够的。女王的官方生日在6月的一个星期六庆祝，尽管她真正的生日是4月21日。

“通常情况下，对君主生日的官方庆祝与君主的实际生日并非同一天，特别是当实际生日不在夏天的时候。” 英国皇家铸币局如是说。

这两个生日都以适当的形式加以庆祝，从英国皇室官方网站上可以看到，“庆祝女王真正的生日是在众人瞩目下于正午时分在伦敦市中心鸣放礼炮庆祝。”

而在官方的生日庆典中，女王会和其他皇室成员一起参加盛大的皇家军队阅兵仪式，被检阅的军队将会行进于白金漢宫、林荫路和皇家骑兵卫队阅兵场之间。

1. wield [wi?ld] vt. 运用，行使（权力）

2. prerogative [pr??r?ɡ?t?v] adj. 特权的；行使特权的

3. tributary [?tr?bj?tri] n. 支流

4. observe [?b?z??v] vt. 遵守，奉行（法律、习俗等）

5. ring [r??] vt. 为（鸟类的主爪部）套环

6. census [?sens?s] n. 人口普查

7. skiff [sk?f] n. （常指单人的）小艇，小船

8. ornithology [???n??θ?l?d?i] n. 鸟类学

9. dominion [d??m?ni?n] n. 控制；统治（权）；支配（权）

10. sturgeon [?st??d??n] n. 鲟

11. statute [?st?t?u?t] n. 法令；法规

12. claim [kle?m] vt. 宣称所有权

13. behind the wheel： 开车

14. crown prince： 王位继承人

15. ignition [?ɡ?n??n] n. （汽车里的）点火开关

16. implore [?m?pl??（r）] vt. 恳求；乞求；哀求

17. a Saturday in June： 确切来说，伊丽莎白二世的官方生日是在六月的第二个星期六。英国君主的官方生日一般都是被设定好的，每个君主的官方生日可能不同，但大多都在夏天五月底六月初，因为英国常常阴雨连绵，而六月的天气比较好，适合庆祝。

18. gun salute： 鸣枪礼炮，在进行重大庆典时的一种庆祝行为。

19. The Mall： 林荫道，伦敦中心绿树成荫的一条道路，位于城中两大著名地标建筑特拉法加广场（Trafalgar Square）和白金汉宫（Buckingham Palace）之间。endprint