Whenever Prince George steps out for an engagement, like on the royal tour of Canada, or poses(摆姿势) for official photographs, there’s one thing about the little royal that has long confused royal watchers: the fact that he only ever wears shorts.
According to William Hanson, an etiquette(礼仪) expert, there is a very good reason for this—and it has nothing to do with fashion, but rather royal tradition.
“It’s a very English thing to dress a young boy in shorts,” William Hanson said. “Trousers are for older boys and men, whereas shorts on young boys is one of those silent British class markers that we have in England. Although times are slowly changing, a pair of trousers on a young boy is considered quite middle class—quite suburban. No self-respecting royal would want to be considered suburban. Even the Duchess of Cambridge.”
The tradition can be traced back through the royal family, with both Princes William and Harry regularly seen wearing shorts until they were considered old enough to progress to full-length trousers.
“The usual custom is that a boy graduates to trousers around eight years old,” William added. “This is, historically, perhaps due to the practice of ‘breeching’, which dates back to the sixteenth century. A newborn boy would be dressed in a gown for their first year or two and then he was ‘breeched’ and wore articles of clothing that more resembled shorts or trousers than dresses.”
Ultimately, he concluded, in the case of William and Kate, the decision to dress George in shorts is more likely down to tradition than a class issue.
“The modern habit of upper class families choosing to dress their boys in shorts will deliberately hark back to(使人想起) a bygone age,” he said. “The British upper set are always keen to hold on to tradition, and this one also silently marks them out from ‘the rest’.”
【小题1】Why does Prince George only wear shorts?| A．Prince George loves shorts. |
| B．Prince George loves sports. |
| C．Shorts are a sign of fashion. |
| D．Wearing shorts is a royal practice. |
| A．Reasonable. | B．Practical. |
| C．Traditional. | D．Fashionable. |
| A．They want to hold on to tradition. |
| B．They want to keep to royal fashion. |
| C．They want to train him to keep out the cold. |
| D．They want to ignore their social position. |
