Among the many upsides to being British royalty, there is this: You never have to use a last name. For one thing, everyone already knows who you are. There’s only one King, for instance, so it’s not like Charles has to specify which one he is.

成为英国王室成员有许多优势，比如其中一个就是不需要使用自己的姓。这其中的一个原因是，所有人都知道你是谁，因为英国的国王只有一位，因此查尔斯国王不需要指明他到底是哪个查尔斯。

Upside：好的一面，光明的一面，正面

However, the British royal family does have a last name. The British royal family’s last name is technically Windsor, but that’s a relatively new development.

但实际上，英国王室确实有自己的姓氏。英国王室成员的姓严格意义上来说是温莎，但是温莎其实也是相对比较新的姓氏。

Before 1917, royals were usually known by the territory they ruled or the Royal House of which they were a member, as the Royal Family’s website explains. For example: The full name of Queen Victoria’s eldest son, King Edward VII, was Albert Edward Saxe-Coburg-Gotha—a mouthful he inherited from his father, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

1917年之前，如王室家族的网站所介绍的，王室成员的姓通常为他们所统治的领地或其所属的王室家族。比如，维多利亚女王的长子，即爱德华国王七世的全名是Albert Edward Saxe-Coburg-Gotha（萨克森-科堡-哥达），这一长串拗口的姓来自于他的父亲，即Saxe-Coburg（萨克斯·库堡）和 Gotha（哥达）的阿尔伯特亲王。

Mouthful：又长又拗口的词（或短语）

In 1917, though, Edward’s son, George V, was presented with a conundrum: His surname sounded somewhat German, which was an unwelcome association during World War I, so he named his family after Windsor Castle. Since then, any descendants of Queen Victoria (aside from married women) bear the last name Windsor.

1917年，爱德华的儿子，乔治五世遇到了一个难题。这个难题就是他的姓听上去有点偏向于德语，而在一战期间，这种关联是令人不快的。因此，他根据温莎城堡将自己的姓改成Windsor（温莎）。至此，维多利亚女王的所有后代（除了已婚女性）都使用Windsor这个姓。

Conundrum：令人迷惑的难题；复杂难解的问题

In 1960, to make things more confusing, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, decided to add their own spin to the Windsor name, distinguishing their descendants from the rest of the royal family. So her children and their children can use Mountbatten-Windsor as their surname on official documents such as marriage and birth certificates.

1960年，伊丽莎白二世和她的丈夫菲利普亲王决定在温莎这个姓氏中加入自己的风格并以此将自己的后代和其他王室家族成员区分开来，这一决定使姓氏变得更加复杂。这一决定之后，伊丽莎白二世和丈夫菲利普亲王的子女可以在正式的文件中，比如结婚证和出生证中使用Mountbatten-Windsor（蒙巴顿- 温莎）这一姓氏。

put your own spin on it：加入自己的特点，个性化

Kings and queens are welcome to change the last names of their family at will, since it’s a matter of precedent rather than an official decree. And royals sometimes adopt other names when it’s convenient. Princes Harry and William used Wales as their last name while serving in the military, adopting their father’s designation as the then-Prince of Wales.

因为已经有了先例且并不涉及官方法令，因此国王和王后可以按照自己的意愿来改变姓氏。王室成员偶尔也会为了方便而使用其他姓氏。比如哈利和威廉王子在参军时就使用了Wales（威尔士）这个姓氏，这个姓氏是他们的父亲当时作为威尔士亲王时的称号。

With such a complicated naming protocol, it’s no wonder most royal family members go by their titles instead.

面对如此复杂的命名规则，难怪绝大多数王室成员都选择用头衔来代替姓氏。

原文来源：心理牙线

编辑：译锐君