Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah arrive at 10 Downing Street in London June 27, 2007.

Sarah Brown, the discreet wife of Britain's new prime minister Gordon Brown, offers a stark contrast to Tony Blair's high-profile spouse Cherie -- and could help soften her husband's dour image.

Cherie has nevershied away fromwearing an "I Love TB" badge at a Labour conference, detailing her first kiss to a journalist or seeming to disagree with some of her husband's policies.

Sarah -- who reportedly has a rocky relationship with Cherie -- prefers to stay on the sidelines and let Gordon Brown do the talking.

Her low-key style means she is unlikely to face criticism from tabloid newspapers in the same way as Cherie, a successful human rights lawyer often accused of having a taste for high living and new age fads.

But if Sarah, the former public relations executive prefers to stay out of the limelight, it is because she wants to see the centre stage reserved for her husband.

Born in 1963 in Buckinghamshire, southern England, Sarah spent much of her childhood in Tanzania, where her parents were working, before returning to England aged seven when they were seperated.

She then lived with her mother and two brothers in north London and has hinted that the family had some difficulties as it regrouped.

It may have been this experience which fuelled her interest in working with charities helping single mothers, an interest shared with Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who is a friend.

Sarah met her future husband through her work but it was not until spring 1994, when she and Brown shared a flight between London and Scotland, that they got to know each other properly.

As Brown's wife, she takes care over her hair and make-up and dresses in a smart but low-key style.

"As Mrs. Blair waves goodbye, the quiet woman knows her day is coming," the Mail said.


(Agencies)

英國新任首相戈登·布朗的夫人莎拉低調謙遜，與布萊爾夫人切麗的高調形象形成鮮明對比，這可能有助于平衡布朗嚴肅古板的形象。

切麗從不會羞于在工黨會議上戴“我愛托尼·布萊爾”的徽章、不介意將自己的初吻故事告訴記者、也不會回避自己對丈夫某些政策的不同意見。

據說與切麗的關系有些問題的莎拉則更喜歡站在一邊，讓丈夫出頭。

她低調的處事方式意味著她不可能像切麗那樣去面對一些小報的評論。身為成功人權律師的切麗常因追求奢華生活和新時代風潮而遭到指責。

但如果說曾為公關經理的莎拉不喜歡站在聚光燈下的話，那也是因為她想把舞臺留給丈夫。

莎拉于1963年出生在英國南部的白金漢郡，她童年的大部分時光是在父母的工作地坦桑尼亞度過的。莎拉七歲那年，父母離異，她回到英國。

之后，她與母親和兩個兄弟生活在倫敦北部，據她提供的信息，當時家庭在重新組織的過程中遇到了一些麻煩。

可能是這種經歷讓莎拉十分熱衷于與慈善團體合作幫助單親媽媽，她的朋友、《哈利·波特》的作者JK·羅琳也是這方面的熱衷者。

莎拉在工作中認識了布朗，但直到1994年春他們共乘一個倫敦到蘇格蘭的航班時，兩人才開始真正的去了解對方。

作為布朗的夫人，莎拉對頭發護理和化妝很在意，在穿著方面，她的風格是低調而大方。

《每日郵報》說：“當布萊爾夫人揮手告別之時，這位安靜的女人心里清楚該是她的天下了！”

（來源：英語點津 姍姍編輯）