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Has the king’s social and personal position changed with the decline in his religious status and political power? The answer to this question is different in different countries. In Scandinavia it has. The general sentiment is democratic. The Norwegians, the Swedes and Danes do not like the idea that the royal family is something apart, leading an existence of courtly formality and stately splendor. The royal families, so far as we can gather, agree with them. Certainly they fall in with their wishes. The kings and queens of these countries perform their public functions with traditional state and dignity; but when these are over, they return to a home life which differs in no essentials from that of their subjects.
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● social and personal position：社会地位与个人地位。religious status：宗教上的地位。status和position没有多少分别，不过status是法律名词，更能引起庄严的联想。国王的宗教地位和政治权力都衰落了（decline），他的社会地位与个人地位是否也因此改变呢？
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● Scandinavia：指挪威、瑞典、丹麦三国（还有冰岛）。按地理位置说来，丹麦是不在Scandinavia半岛上的。it has=his position has changed。
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● do not like the idea：idea这个字很常用，中文不易表达（上一段有does not accept any idea of）。这一句直译应该是“他们不喜欢这个想法”；照中国习惯说法，其实就是“他们不喜欢这个办法”。
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● something apart：高高在上，和老百姓判然不同。leading an existence中的existence就是life：过这样的生活。courtly formality：宫廷的繁文缛节。stately splendor：庄严华丽。“庄严”和“华丽”这两个观念在中文里是平行的，但在英文里，可以用一个为主（名词），一个为从（形容词）。这是中英文用法不同之处，亦是英文较多伸缩性的一个例子，请读者注意。
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● so far as we can gather：就我们所知者。gather：从事实上推断。
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● 那些君主，是否真正赞成“君民平等”的想法，我们不敢断言。就事实上表现看来，他们是赞成的。
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● 有一点我们是敢断定的（certainly），他们的确是依从（fall in with）老百姓的意志而行事的。
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● perform their public functions：执行公务（如接见外国使节、主持国庆大典等）。traditional：传统的。state and dignity：这两个字连用时，意义上没有多大分别。state有“庄严”之意。
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● when these are over=when these functions are over：公务执行完毕。
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● differ in no essentials：其主要之点并无分别。that of their subjects：他们“子民”的家庭生活。
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In Belgium and England the story is different because there the traditions of aristocratic society and court life are still alive. The British royal children are privately educated; the queen of England does not go out unattended and the Belgian king rarely does; there are courtiers and splendor. Yet even in England royal life has modified a great deal. An English princess will now dine out with friends without a lady in waiting in attendance. The little Duke of Cornwall is beginning his education not at home under the care of a tutor but at a school. It seems possible, too, that when he is older he may become the first heir to the British throne to attend a public school. Altogether the English royal family today leads a life which, while retaining many of its old forms, is growingly democratic in spirit.
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● story原意是“故事”。the story is different是成语，与“故事”无关，只是“情形是不一样的”。
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● aristocratic society：贵族社会。alive这个字是可以形容traditions的。are still alive当然比still exist来得好。
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● privately educated：请“太傅”教授。
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● does not go out unattended：没有侍从跟随，是不出门的。unattended形容主语queen。…rarely does：比利时国王出门，难得没有侍从跟随。
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● there are…：宫廷供奉之臣和宫廷生活的华丽，迄今犹存。
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● modified：改变，程度减轻。
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● will dine out的will是表示“习惯”。a lady in waiting：侍从宫女。in attendance：从旁侍候。
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● Duke of Cornwall：就是现在英国的王子Charles。英国太子的封号是Prince of Wales，当时这个王子，尚未正式册封为Prince of Wales。
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● under the care of a tutor：受私人教师指导。
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● heir to the throne：储君。public school：英国的public school，不是“公立学校”，只是“公众可以就读的学校”。以前英国的储君，从来没有上学校念书的。
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● a life which：这句话的重心是在which…这个定语从句上。a life可以说没有什么意义，它的意义借“which”clause而完成。这种生活虽然（while）旧日规模仍旧保持不少，可是在精神上，已是日益民主了。同样的句法，见于上一段之末句：a home life的意义亦是借“which”clause而完成的。
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