凯特有喜 能否留住苏格兰芳心？

　　　　Kate and William met at a Scottish university, visited Scotland in May and have their own Scottish titles. Could a royal baby save the union?

　　Forget tea time, beefeaters or those derelict red phone boxes – nothing makes you feel more proud to be British that the world’s most photogenic royal couple announcing that they’re expecting a second child.

　　And with ten days until Scotland votes on whether to remain part of the - proudly royal - British union, could the excitement over the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second baby help keep England and Scotland together?

　　After all, the story of the Kate and William begins in Scotland, where the couple met in 2001 while studying at the University of St Andrews. The royal romance gave the small university global recognition and students would be bereft to see their mascots become foreign citizens should the Yes vote carry the day.

　　“We go crazy for anything royal, so this baby will be another member of the St Andrews’ family as far as we’re concerned,” says Dani Goldberg, a fourth year marine biology student at the university. When Prince George was born, she says those on campus chatted excitedly about the “St Andrews’ baby” and the buzz was “huge”. “I was in the library and everyone looked up from their laptops, screamed and started clapping,” she adds.

　　The Scottish campus is fiercely proud of their links to the couple. Students try to recreate the first dates of Kate and Wills, a cappella groups sing spoofs of how they met and photos of the couple are framed in café. Dani says that members of the single-sex social clubs that boasted Kate and William as members – the Lumsden Club and the Kate Kennedy Club – model themselves as junior versions of the couple, while the flat where Prince William lived is subject to intense scrutiny and rumours about undercover agents.

　　“When you tell people you go to St Andrews, their first question is, 'Have you met your Prince or Princess?’,” she says. “St Andrews is very small and Kate and Wills are the biggest claim to fame we have.”

　　Dani says that students get caught up in royal enthusiasm regardless of their political leanings, and excitement over the future royal baby could remind Scots of their love for the royal family and, by extension, Great Britain.

　　“A lot of Scots who are going for independence haven’t done that much research and they’re just voting as an angry reaction to England,” she says. ”The 'Yes’ campaign is taking advantage of that simple enthusiasm for independence. This equally emotive news of a new royal baby could be a winning force.”

　　The couple’s Scottish links have not faded post university. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hold separate titles in Scotland, where they’re known as the Earl & Countess of Strathearn – the title used by First Minister Alex Salmond when he congratulated the couple on news of the pregnancy.

　　In May, the royal couple were greeted by cheering crowds in Perthshire when they toured the sites of their honorary title, Strathearn. Kate and William visited the Famous Grouse whisky distillery at the time – where the Duchess of Cambridge put earlier pregnancy rumours to rest by sipping samples of Scottish whisky.

　　“There’s a lot of pride in the area to be associated with Kate and William,” says Stuart Cassells, general manager of the distillery. “They’re thoroughly respected worldwide, they’re the world’s most famous couple and they’ve energised and modernised the royal family. We found out that Prince William is very fond of whisky and we were delighted that Kate also enjoyed a few,” he says.

　　Prince William has spent considerable time in Scotland since he was a child as Balmoral Castle, in Aberdeenshire, is the royal family’s most private residence. It’s unlikely the royal family would want to let go of their Scottish heritage – or that Scotland would want to give up on the royal family.

　　Alex Johnstone, Member of Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland, says news of the royal baby will cause a great deal of excitement in the country. “Loyalty to the royal family is very high and people are very supportive on a personal and individual basis,” he says. “Everyone will be absolutely delighted to hear the news and wish them all the best with the pregnancy and birth of their second child.” Johnstone says that Scots are very supportive of the royal family and that news of a new member will “reinforce what I believe will be a resounding 'no’ vote”.

　　After all, the annoucement is a timely reminder of some of the most romantic and best-loved traditions that come with being British. With referendum polls wavering as polling day draws near, could the new Cambridge baby actually save the Union?

　　忘了下午茶时光、伦敦塔护卫队或是荒废的红色电话亭吧，没有什么能比听到世界上最上镜的王室夫妇宣布将迎来第二胎更让英国人自豪的了。

　　据英国《每日电讯报》当地时间9月8日报道，凯特王妃再次怀孕的消息引起了人们对于王室新成员能否保住大不列颠的猜测。凯特王妃和威廉王子在一所苏格兰大学相识。5月，他们访问了苏格兰，还有自己的苏格兰爵位。

　　十天之内，苏格兰就要进行公投决定是否从英国分离出来，人们对于剑桥公爵和夫人将迎来第二个孩子的兴奋之情是否能让英格兰和苏格兰继续“厮守”?毕竟，凯特和威廉的故事是从苏格兰开始的，2011年他们在圣安德鲁斯大学学习时邂逅。这段王室恋情给圣安德鲁斯大学带来了国际知名度，看到他们的偶像即将成为外国人，同学们将黯然神伤，投给支持苏格兰从英国分离出来的人还会坚持吗?

　　圣安德鲁斯大学海洋生物学大四的学生丹妮•格德堡(Dani Goldberg)说：“我们为王室的一切事物而疯狂，所以至少在我们看来乔治王子是圣安德鲁斯大学的一员，当乔治王子出生的时候，大家都热烈地讨论着这个‘圣安德鲁斯大学的孩子’。 讨论是相当的‘热烈’。我当时在图书馆，听到这个消息的时候每个人都抬起了头，我们又是尖叫，又是鼓掌。”

　　圣安德鲁斯大学对与凯特和威廉夫妇的联系极度自豪。学生们试图重现凯特和威廉的前几次约会，一个合唱团还唱些恶作剧形式的歌编造他们是如何相遇的，咖啡店还有他们的照片。丹妮说，单身俱乐部的成员都吹嘘说凯特和威廉是俱乐部成员。他们还把自己看作是两人的低级版本。 威廉王子住过的公寓也成为了密探监察和流言的对象。

　　“当你对人说你是圣安德鲁斯大学的学生时，他们问的第一个问题就是‘你见过王子和王妃吗?’圣安德鲁斯很小，凯特和威廉是我们学校最出名的人。”丹妮说，不管学生的政治倾向是什么，所有人都对王室家族充满热情。而即将出生的王室婴儿是否能让苏格兰人想起他们对王室家族的热爱，或是对整个大不列颠的热爱呢?

　　“很多想要独立的苏格兰人并没有做过足够调查，对英格兰的愤怒促使他们进行公投，苏格兰独立阵营利用了人们对独立的一腔热血。即将诞生的王室婴儿可能会成为反对苏格兰独立的力量。”

　　凯特和威廉夫妇与苏格兰的联系并没有因为毕业而减少，剑桥公爵和公爵夫人还获得了斯特拉森伯爵的头衔，这是苏格兰首席大臣萨尔蒙德恭喜凯特怀孕的时候给他们的称号。5月，当凯特和威廉夫妇以斯特拉森伯爵的头衔在佩思郡参观的时候，欢呼的人群给予他们祝福。他们去参观一个威雀苏格兰威士忌时，剑桥公爵夫人品尝了苏格兰威士忌，并平息了她已怀孕的流言。

　　酒厂总经理斯图尔特•卡塞尔(Stuart Cassells)说：“在苏格兰有很多值得骄傲的地方都与凯特和威廉有联系，他们在全世界都受尊重，他们是世界上最出名的夫妇，他们使王室家庭充满活力和现代气息，我们发现威廉王子非常喜欢威士忌，凯特王妃也喜欢喝一点。”

　　威廉王子小的时候在苏格兰阿伯丁郡(Aberdeenshire)的巴尔莫勒尔堡(Balmoral Castle)度过了很多时光。王室不会愿意放弃他们在苏格兰的遗产，苏格兰也不想放弃他们的王室家庭。

　　苏格兰东北议会的成员亚历克斯•约翰斯通说，凯特王妃再次怀孕的消息会使得苏格兰非常的兴奋，“对王室忠诚会得到很高的赞誉，基于个人的基础上都会非常支持的，每个人听到这个消息都会非常的高兴也会给他们最好的祝福。”约翰斯通说苏格兰人对王室将要添新成员的消息是和支持的，这个消息对“公投来说是一个响亮的‘不’字”。

　　毕竟，这则消息适时地提醒了人们，作为英国人所能拥有的最浪漫和最受欢迎的传统。公投的日子一天天近了，这个尚未诞生的王室宝宝真的能挽救大不列颠吗?