揭祕英國女王的聖誕卡祝福語
Merry Christmas Mr. Kelly from Buckingham Palace
Ever wonder what Britain's royal family write on their Christmas cards? Australian Tim Kelly knows, as he receives one from the Queen every year.
Each Christmas time, Kelly's Sydney mailbox is packed with greeting cards from celebrities and household names including Queen Elizabeth, pop star Kylie Minogue, former South African President Nelson Mandela and U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong.
"The royal family are sensational, they are always very prompt in their Christmas greetings," the 39-year-old Kelly said.
"And the card that comes from No. 10 Downing Street, is a nice card," he said, referring to the residence of the British prime minister. "Tony Blair was always very prompt in his reply. I haven't received one from Gordon Brown yet," he told reporters.
Kelly's Christmas card tradition started when he wrote to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a 12 year old, and she responded. That set him on a path to sending -- and receiving -- greetings from all over the world.
Over the years he has received cards from former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy, Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman, singer Elton John, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Britain's Prince William.
"The Queen and Prince Philip would like to thank you Mr. Kelly for your Christmas wishes and trust that you have a lovely Christmas," reads the message in Kelly's Christmas card each year from Buckingham Palace.
Each year Kelly tries to find new people to write to, but admits with tighter privacy laws it's getting tougher to track celebrities down.
"I tried to send a card to Fidel Castro a few years ago, but the Cuban Embassy thought I was mad, and I never got a response from him either," he said, referring to the Cuban leader.
Kelly also treasures cards from those who have passed on, and, despite their potential value, he says he has no plans to sell them.
"A couple of years I moved house and forgot to write to the Queen and I still got a card. I must be on their database," he said with a laugh.
想過英國王室會在聖誕賀卡上寫些什麼祝福語嗎？家住澳大利亞悉尼的蒂姆•凱利可以告訴你，因爲他每年都會收到女王的聖誕賀卡。
每年聖誕節，凱利家的郵箱總是塞滿了社會各界名流寄來的聖誕賀卡，其中包括英國女王伊麗莎白，流行明星凱莉•米洛、南非前總統尼爾森•曼德拉和美國宇航員尼爾•阿姆斯特朗等等。
39歲的凱利說：“英國王室每年都會非常及時地送上聖誕祝福，這令我很感動。”
他在接受記者採訪時說：“（英國）唐寧街10號首相府寄來的賀卡也非常漂亮。布萊爾的回覆總是很快，但目前我還沒有收到過布朗首相的賀卡。”
凱利給名人寄聖誕賀卡的傳統從他12歲時就開始了，當時他給英國時任首相撒切爾夫人寄了張聖誕賀卡，並收到了她的回覆。從那以後，凱利每年都會向世界各地的名人寄送聖誕祝福，同時也會收到來自世界各地的祝福。
到目前爲止，凱利收到過美國前總統羅納德•里根及其夫人南希、好萊塢著名影星妮可•基德曼、搖滾歌手埃爾頓•約翰、美國前國務卿基辛格和英國威廉王子寄來的聖誕賀卡。
白金漢宮（英國王室）寄給凱利的聖誕賀卡上的祝福語是：“親愛的凱利先生，女王和菲利普親王感謝你的聖誕祝福，並祝你度過一個美好的聖誕。”
每年凱利都試圖給一些新人寄賀卡，但由於現在的隱私保護法越來越嚴格，所以想要得到名人的地址越來越困難。
他說：“幾年前，我打算給古巴領導人菲德爾•卡斯特羅寄聖誕賀卡，但古巴大使館竟然認爲我瘋了，我也從沒收到過他本人的回覆。”
凱利還十分珍視已逝名人曾給他寄的聖誕賀卡，儘管能值不少錢，但凱利說他不會賣。
他笑着說：“幾年前，我搬家了，忘了給女王寄賀卡，但我仍然收到了女王的賀卡。想必我被列入了他們的寄卡名單。”
Vocabulary:
household name: 家喻戶曉的人或事
