January 23, 1957, Princess Caroline, whose full name is Caroline Louise Marguerite de Grimaldi, is born in the Royal Palace of Monaco. She's the eldest child of Prince Rainier Ⅲ, the ruler of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, a famous Hollywood movie star. Two months after Caroline's birth, her photo is on the cover of LIFE magazine. Grace wants Caroline and her brother and sister, Albert (born in 1958) and Stephanie (born in 1965), to have normal childhoods, but it's difficult with all the world watching. As a child, Caroline is bright, athletic1, and outgoing2. She takes ballet lessons, learns the piano, speaks several languages, and excels3 in a variety of sports (including skiing, swimming, and tennis). She has no interest in following in Grace's acting footsteps4.
Tutored5 privately at first, Caroline attends a Catholic6 convent7 school in Monaco from 8 to 14, then a Catholic boarding school8 in England, graduating at 16. She often spends summers in America with her mother's family. In 1974, she enrolls9 at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, where her social life often makes headlines10, much to her parents' disappointment. Caroline's parents ask her to further her education at Princeton, far away from the Paris social scene. But she instead chooses to study at the Sorbonne11 in Paris in 1976.
A striking12 beauty like her mother, 18-year-old Caroline has a love life that is a favorite subject of the media, although many reports are untrue. Caroline begins to date banker Philippe Junot, 17 years her senior13. When Philippe proposes marriage, Rainier and Grace disapprove14 insisting she complete her studies at the Sorbonne before giving their royal blessing15. A few days after her graduation, Caroline and Philippe are married on June 28, 1978. This is followed a day later by a ceremony in the Royal Garden before an audience16 of kings, queens and movie stars. However, soon after the marriage, Philippe is photographed with a former17 girlfriend. The couple separates in August 1980; their divorce is official by October.
On September 13, 1982, Grace has a driving accident. Caroline is in England at the time, but flies home to be with her mother, who dies the next day. Caroline assumes18 her mother's role, caring for her father, and serving as de facto19 “first lady” of Monaco. Caroline also adopts20 many of her mother's charitable21 causes22 as her own. She soon finds romance again—with Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian businessman whom she meets in a Monte Carlo disco. In December of 1983, the Palace announces their marriage, giving only 10 days' notice. The short notice leads to speculation that Caroline is pregnant24—and son Andrea is born in June 1984. Caroline and Stefano also have a daughter, Charlotte, in 1986, and a son, Pierre, in 1987. Unlike her first marriage, this one is a success.
Tragedy25 strikes26 again on October 3, 1990, when Stefano, flips27 his speedboat28 in a competition and is killed. Caroline withdraws29 from public life and moves her family to a rented villa30 in Saint-Remy, France. While leading a quiet life, Caroline becomes involved31 for several years with French actor Vincent Lindon. Then, a romance with Prince Ernst August of Hanover, cousin to England's Windsor family, brings Caroline back into the spotlight32. Her relationship with Ernst, who has a wife and two children, is a badly kept secret. In 1996, she loses her hair, reportedly due to33 stress.
After Prince Ernst's divorce in 1997, he and Caroline marry on January 23, 1999 (her 42nd birthday); it's a private civil ceremony held in the Room of Mirrors at the Royal Palace. A daughter, Alexandra, is born in Austria in July 1999. In contrast to34 Caroline's reserved35 nature36, her new husband often creates embarrassing37 headlines, which include alleged38 assault39 of a TV cameraman in 1998 and a bar owner in Kenya in 2000. In early 2001, Caroline is injured40 in a collision41 with a fellow skier in Austria. In 2002, ailing42 Prince Rainier changes the family's rules of succession43 to allow his daughters to inherit44 the throne45 if bachelor46 Albert should die without heirs47. To this day, Caroline continues to fulfill48 the royal duties of Monaco; she, Prince Albert, and Princess Stephanie will inherit Rainier's wealth and political status49.
卡罗琳公主全名为卡罗琳·路易丝·玛格丽特·德·格里马尔迪,1957年1月23日出生于摩纳哥皇宫。她是摩纳哥的统治者雷尼埃三世大公与著名的好莱坞明星格雷丝·凯利的第一个孩子。卡罗琳出生刚两个月,她的照片就上了《生活》杂志的封面。格雷丝本想让卡罗琳和她的弟弟阿尔伯特(生于1958年)和妹妹斯特凡妮(生于1965年)享受普通人的童年生活,但是在全世界的瞩目之下,很难做到这一点。孩提时代的卡罗琳聪颖活泼,性格开朗。她学跳芭蕾舞,学弹钢琴,会说好几种语言,而且擅长多种运动(包括滑雪、游泳和网球)。她对继承格雷丝的演艺生涯不感兴趣。
卡罗琳最初由家庭教师教育,从8岁至14岁在摩纳哥的天主教女隐修会学校接受教育,后转至英国的天主教寄宿学校学习,16岁时毕业。她经常在美国与她母亲的家人一起过暑假。1974年她被巴黎的政治学院录取,其社交生活常常成为巴黎媒体的头版头条,这使她的父母很失望。他们希望她到远离巴黎社交圈的美国普林斯顿继续深造。而她却在1976年偏偏选择到巴黎大学求学。
18岁的卡罗琳像她母亲一样美丽动人,她的爱情生活也自然成为媒体争相报道的内容, 尽管其中有许多报道不实。卡罗琳开始与比她年长17岁的银行家菲利浦·朱诺约会。菲利浦提出求婚后,雷尼埃和格雷丝表示反对。他们坚持要卡罗琳在巴黎大学完成学业后才颁发皇家准许令。1978年6月28日,就在毕业后几天,卡罗琳与菲利浦喜结良缘,第二天,在皇家花园举行结婚仪式,有多国国王和王后以及电影明星出席。然而婚礼举行后没多久,菲利浦被人拍照与某位前女友在一起。1980年8月这对夫妻分居,10月正式解除婚约。
1982年9月13日,格雷丝出了车祸。当时卡罗琳正在英国,但她立即飞回家陪伴母亲,第二天母亲不幸去世。卡罗琳接过母亲的工作,照料父亲,担当起事实上的摩纳哥“第一夫人”的角色。此外,卡罗琳还继承了母亲的许多慈善事业。很快她又重新找到了爱情 —— 这一次是与一位意大利商人斯特凡诺·卡齐拉,他们是在蒙特卡洛的一家迪斯科舞厅相识的。1983年12月,摩纳哥皇室仅仅提前十天宣布了他们的婚约。如此的仓促引起了人们的猜测,即卡罗琳怀孕了 —— 其子安德烈于1984年6月出生。卡罗琳与斯特凡诺还另有一女夏洛特(生于1986年)和一子皮埃尔(生于1987年)。不像第一次婚姻,这一次婚姻非常成功。
1990年10月3日,悲剧再次降临。当天斯特凡诺在一次快艇比赛中丧生。卡罗琳从此退出公众场合,并把家搬至法国圣雷米一幢租借的别墅里。在这段宁静的生活期间,卡罗琳曾经几年与法国演员樊尚·兰登有染。此后,与汉诺威的欧内斯特·奥古斯特王子的恋情又使卡罗琳成为焦点人物。欧内斯特是英国温莎公爵家的表亲,他有妻子,还有两个孩子。卡罗琳与欧内斯特的关系保密做得不很好,据传由于压力过大,1996年她的头发掉光了。
1997年欧内斯特王子离婚后,与卡罗琳在1999年1月23日(这天是她的42岁生日)结婚;他们在皇宫内的镜室举行了不公开的非宗教仪式。1999年7月他们的女儿亚力山德拉在奥地利出生。与自己含蓄矜持的性格相反,她的新任丈夫经常成为头条新闻,颇令人尴尬,其中包括传闻1998年袭击一名电视摄影师以及2000年袭击一位肯尼亚的酒吧老板。2001年年初,卡罗琳在奥地利滑雪时与一名同伴相撞受伤。2002年身体状况不佳的雷尼埃大公修改了皇室继承权的有关规定,以便万一未成家的阿尔伯特死后无嗣,雷尼埃王子的女儿们可以继承王位。直至今日,卡罗琳仍在继续履行摩纳哥的皇家义务;她将和阿尔伯特王子以及斯特凡妮公主一起继承雷尼埃的财产和政治地位。
1. athletic adj. 爱运动的
2. outgoing adj. 直爽的
3. excel in 擅长
4. follow in one's footsteps 继承
5. tutor v. 家庭教师辅导
6. Catholic adj. 天主教的
7. convent n. 女修道院
8. boarding school 寄宿学校
9. enroll v. 注册;入学
10. headline n. 头版重要新闻
11. Sorbonne n. 巴黎大学
12. striking adj. 引人注目的;惊人的
13. senior adj. 年长的
14. disapprove v. 不赞成,不同意
15. blessing n. 同意,允准
16. audience n. 观众
17. former adj. 前任的
18. assume v. 承担
19. de facto adj. 实际的,事实上的
20. adopt v. 采用,采纳
21. charitable adj. 慈善的
22. cause n. 事业
23. speculation n. 推测
24. pregnant adj. 怀孕的
25. tragedy n. 悲剧
26. strike [straik] v. (灾难等)突然降临
27. flip [flip] v. 急速地动
28. speedboat n. 快艇
29. withdraw v. 撤退
30. villa n. 别墅
31. involved (with) adj. <婉> 有染的
32. spotlight n. 公众注意的中心
33. due to 由于
34. in contrast to 与…截然不同
35. reserved adj. 含蓄的,矜持的
36. nature n. 性格,性情
37. embarrassing adj. 令人困窘的
38. alleged adj. 被说成的
39. assault n. (武力或口头上的)攻击,袭击
40. injure v. 伤害
41. collision n. 碰撞
42. ailing adj. 有病痛的
43. succession n. 继承(权)
44. inherit v. 继承
45. throne n. 王位
46. bachelor n. 未婚男子,单身汉
47. heir n. 后嗣,继承人
48. fulfill v. 履行,实现
49. status n. (重要)地位