Have you ever wondered why, on every social occasion, during every outing, Prince George is sporting a fine pair of shorts?

你是否好奇为什么乔治王子总是穿着一条质地优良的短裤出席各大社交场合和外出活动呢？

The young royal is always dressed in short trousers – wherever he is, whatever the weather. The reason as to why is a simple one, and we thought you might like to know.

无论何时何地，天气如何，短裤似乎成了这位年幼王室人员的标配。原因只有一个，我猜你一定很好奇。

Etiquette¹ expert William Hanson told Harper's Bazaar² that three-year-old Prince George's given fashion is stipulated³ by tradition. And very specific traditions are most often upheld by the 'upper classes'. They love it.

礼仪专家威廉•汉森在接受《时尚芭莎》采访时说，三岁的乔治王子的这一时尚选择是合乎传统的。而这些特殊的传统通常是“上流社会”所推崇的，他们喜欢这样。

Hanson explains that "it's a very English thing to dress a young boy in shorts," and not doing so is "decidedly suburban⁴".

汉森解释说“年轻男孩穿短裤是非常英式的一种做法”，不这样穿的“毫无疑问是乡下的”。

Hanson says: "Trousers are for older boys and men, whereas shorts on young boys is one of those silent class markers that we have in England. Although times are (slowly) changing, a pair of trousers on a young boy is considered quite middle class – quite suburban.

他表示：“在英国，大一点的男孩和成年男性才会穿长裤，年幼的男孩穿短裤是一种无声的阶级标志。尽管时代在（慢慢）变化，但年幼的男孩穿长裤还是会被看作中产阶级或乡下人。

"And no self-respecting aristo or royal would want to be considered suburban. Even the Duchess of Cambridge."

“没有哪位自重的贵族或王室成员会想被看作乡下人，即使是剑桥公爵夫人也不例外。”

Well, there we have it then. Prince George will be in shorts for the foreseeable future – until eight-years-old, in case you're wondering, for that's when it's deemed appropriate for a boy's style to be taken to the next stage.

现在我们知道原因了。在未来的一段时间内乔治王子将会一直穿短裤——直到他八岁为止。在这里你也许会感到好奇，现在就来解开谜团：因为到了八岁，男孩子的着装便可以进入下一个阶段了。

"The usual custom is that a boy graduates to trousers around eight years old," Hanson adds. It's something that dates back to the 16th century. We won't bore you with the historic details.

汉森补充说：“依据习俗，王室的男孩会在八岁左右结束‘短裤时代’。”这一传统要追溯到16世纪，这里就不介绍历史细节了。

Ultimately, it's the nod to a bygone age for the British upper classes, Hanson says. It "marks them out from 'the rest'." Apparently⁵.

最后，这种着装方式是英国上层社会对过往岁月的一种致意。它能“将贵族同平民区分开来”。显然如此。