英國女王伊麗莎白二世的愛犬“霍莉”因病痛纏身，上周接受安樂死。13歲的“霍莉”上周在蘇格蘭巴爾莫勒爾莊園接受安樂死，被埋在花園中，這樣女王透過古堡衣帽間的窗戶就能看到“霍莉”的墓地。

Queen Elizabeth II walking in the private grounds of Windsor Castle with her dogs: clockwise from top left Willow (corgi), Vulcan (dorgie), Candy (dorgie) and Holly (corgi)

The Queen has been left distraught following the death of one of her two surviving corgis.
女王僅剩下的兩只柯基犬的其中一只去世了，這令她十分難過。

Thirteen-year-old Holly, who appeared in the celebrated James Bond sketch for the opening of the London Olympics in 2012, was put down at Balmoral last week.
上周，13歲的霍莉在巴爾莫勒爾莊園被安樂死。2012年倫敦奧運會開幕式上，霍莉曾在著名的詹姆斯?邦德短劇中亮相。

The Queen took the heartbreaking decision to summon a vet for the dog, which was suffering from illness and the effects of old age.
霍莉飽受疾病和衰老癥狀的折磨，這讓女王做出了一個心碎的決定，為霍莉召來獸醫。

On average, corgis age a little over six times faster than humans, making Holly the equivalent of 81, nine years younger than her royal mistress.
一般來說，柯基犬的衰老速度是人類的六倍多一點，霍莉的年齡相當于人類的81歲，比女王陛下年輕9歲。

Insiders say she was ‘very sad’ after the decision was taken to have Holly put to sleep.
知情者稱，做出讓霍莉長眠的決定后女王“非常難過”。

In her first acting role, the Queen was seen to leave Buckingham Palace with Bond, played by Daniel Craig, and clambered aboard a helicopter, leaving behind her corgis Monty, Willow and Holly

‘The Queen was deeply upset but she doesn’t like seeing her dogs suffer and Holly had reached a very good age,’ said one. ‘She gets more unsettled if they are distressed and she knows that putting a dog down is often the kindest solution.
“女王十分痛苦，但是她不想看到自己的狗狗忍受折磨，而且霍莉已經很老了，” 一位知情者表示，“如果狗狗們痛苦不堪，那么女王會更加憂傷。她明白讓霍莉安樂死是最好的解決辦法。”

‘She was devoted to Holly and wherever the Queen was, the dog was never far behind.’ I understand that the faithful companion has been buried in the castle grounds at a spot the Queen can see from her drawing room window. In due course there will almost certainly be a headstone marking the resting place.
“女王深愛著霍莉，不論她到哪里，霍莉都跟在她身后不遠處。據我了解，這個忠誠的伙伴被埋在城堡內的一處空地，女王可以從她的休息室看到那里。不久后，霍莉的這處安息之地肯定會立上一座墓碑。”

Last year it was revealed that she had stopped breeding Pembroke Welsh corgis because of fears that with younger dogs around her feet she might trip over one and hurt herself.
據悉，由于擔心女王會被圍繞在腳邊的小狗絆倒，傷到自己，去年女王就不飼養彭布洛克威爾士科基犬了。

It also emerged that she no longer wanted any new four-legged companions to replace those that died, as had been the practice in the past.
還有消息稱，女王不想再像以往那樣養新的動物代替那些已經去世的狗狗來陪伴她。

Monty Roberts, the Californian cowboy who inspired the Hollywood film The Horse Whisperer and who has been an informal adviser to the Queen on her horses and dogs for more than a quarter of a century, disclosed that she did not want to leave any of her beloved pets behind when she dies.
加州牛仔蒙蒂?羅伯茨是女王在養馬和養狗方面的非官方顧問，他為女王服務超過25年，好萊塢電影《馬語者》就是受到他的啟發。蒙蒂透露，女王不想在辭世時將任何一只她深愛的寵物拋下不管。

Holly’s death came at the end of the Queen’s summer break, days before she was due to return to London. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘It is a private matter.’
就在女王夏休結束，預備返回倫敦的幾天前，霍莉去世了。一位白金漢宮的發言人稱：“這是女王的私事。”

Corgis have an average lifespan of 12 to 13 years, though some live longer. Kelpie, another royal favourite, lived to 17.
柯基的平均壽命是12至13年，有些可能活的更久些。卡爾比也是一只皇家愛犬，它活到了17歲。

They haven’t all had long lives, however. In 2003 Pharos was savaged by Princess Anne’s bull terrier Dotty and had to be put down.
不過，它們并不是都那么長壽。2003年，帕洛斯遭到安妮公主的牛頭梗多蒂的攻擊，不得不被安樂死。

最后我們再來欣賞下，女王和愛犬一起參演的2012倫敦奧運會開幕式片花：

英文來源：每日郵報
翻譯：董靜
編審：yaning