我們都知道英女王居住的溫莎城堡的一部份供公眾參觀，大部分都堡壘及女王的私人住宅和花園都對外關閉。但自上個星期六起，參觀溫莎城堡的門票將包括東露台花園。

這一消息立即令不少皇家觀察家和歷史學家欣喜不已，因為自1970年代起這個花園一直只屬於溫莎家族。8至9月，是屬於英女王伊莉莎白二世及丈夫回到蘇格蘭Balmoral城堡的假期，不過將花園對公眾開放還是第一次。其實2020疫情期間，英女王都做出與以往不同、更親民的舉動來傳播積極的能量（包括使用Zoom會議），如今開放自家後花園也是希望群眾能保持社交距離的同時觀賞美景。

東露台花園最初是由建築師Jeffry Wyatville在1824年至1826年之間為喬治四世設計的，可從城堡東面的國王新的皇家公寓套房中欣賞到美景。而且在第二次世界大戰期間，更用來種植蔬菜農作物來幫助戰爭的影響。當時伊麗莎白公主和瑪嘉烈公主都有被分配一小塊地種植西紅柿、甜粟米和矮豆。

除了歷史意義，相信英女王獨愛它的原因也是和丈夫菲臘親王（Prince Philip）有關。這片宏偉的花園俯瞰溫莎城堡的東立面，周圍環繞著3500個玫瑰花叢、灌木叢，正中心建有蓮花形噴泉，如今的模樣都是1971年菲臘親王的再設計。那裡有紅豆杉的圓頂，還有法國雕塑家Hubert Le Sueur所創作的四個青銅雕像。2016年時，著名攝影師Annie Leibovitz還為英女王在此拍攝了90歲生日的照片。

 

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??The East Terrace Garden at Windsor Castle. From Saturday, 8 August, the East Terrace Garden at Windsor Castle, created by George IV in the 1820s, will open to the public at weekends for the first time in 40 years. In the 19th century, Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, took particular interest in the garden’s planting scheme, and in the early 20th century, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra held large garden parties there each summer. In 1971 The Duke of Edinburgh redesigned the flowerbeds and commissioned a new bronze lotus fountain based on his own design for the centre of garden. Swipe ⬅️ to see The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh pictured in the East Terrace Garden in 1997 by Patrick Lichfield. ?The Castle’s Moat Garden beneath the iconic Round Tower, will also open for visitors and young children to join family activities on Thursdays and Fridays in August. This secluded informal garden is thought to date from the reign of Edward III, and it is believed that Geoffrey Chaucer used it as the setting for The Knight’s Tale, the first story from The Canterbury Tales. Head over to @royalcollectiontrust to find out more about The East Terrace Garden and Moat Garden, and how you can visit.

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Aug 6, 2020 at 2:29am PDT