（圖片來自網(wǎng)絡(luò)）

It was an announcement that went largely unnoticed amid the obligatory national debate about the New Year’s Honours List.

There, among the gongs, was a second knighthood for the Queen’s private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt, awarded, according to the citation, for ‘a(chǎn) new approach to constitutional matters... [and] the preparation for the transition to a change of reign’.

It was a surprising admission. It is widely acknowledged the Queen will never abdicate and the succession is rarely, if ever, talked about in official terms.
But behind the Palace gates, preparations are being made.

And in the clearest sign yet that Her Majesty is getting ready to pass the mantle on to her son, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the Prince of Wales is preparing to take control of the Royal Family media operation within weeks.

For the past 20 years, the Queen and her heir have operated separate press offices from Buckingham Palace and Clarence House respectively.

They will now be run from one office at the Palace, with Prince Charles’s head of communications, Sally Osman, at the helm.

There is little doubting the significance of the move, masterminded by Sir Christopher, or the ways in which it will increase Prince Charles’s influence.

The merging of the two offices clearly represents an important change in the way the Monarchy will be run.

One Royal confidante said: ‘This is the first step to bringing Charles to the throne.’?

【新聞快訊】

一心盼望當(dāng)國王的英國王儲(chǔ)查爾斯或許終于等到出頭之日了！有消息人士透露，英國王室正在忙于人事重組，而查爾斯的手下將擔(dān)任整個(gè)家族的首席新聞官，此舉無疑是“為未來繼位做準(zhǔn)備”。

在過去20年里，白金漢宮和克拉倫斯宮分別有各自的新聞處，但經(jīng)過這一輪改革，兩個(gè)獨(dú)立的新聞機(jī)構(gòu)將首次合并，并且統(tǒng)一由查爾斯的通訊主管薩利·奧斯曼領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。

分析人士認(rèn)為，這無疑是英國王室運(yùn)營模式的重大改變。另有一名消息人士透露：“這是將查爾斯帶向王位的第一步?！?/p>