In Trial by TV, the Queen Wins Royally

LONDON â€”  Let’s hear it for the queen! Never mind scandalously divorcing children or a husband who is a prominent public malaprop. After more than four often-trying decades, the British still love their Elizabeth Regina.

Asked to vote on the question “Do you want a monarchy?� in a rowdy, live television spectacular before 3,000 partisan spectators, 2.5 million viewers telephoned in responses: Among them, 66% favored the monarchy despite its foibles; the other 34% voted for a British republic. Only in Scotland did republicans prevail, winning 56% in a show marked by more heat than light. The atmosphere was described as “gladiatorial�--a polite British term for pub brawl.

“We were on new ground here. You can’t expect 3,000 people in a live audience to sit there as if it was a seance,� said Mike Morley, who was the editor of the Tuesday night program. “This was not a rent-a-crowd but a representative sample of the British people.�

“Two Million Phone to Save Throne,� applauded the Sun, an inveterate royals-watching tabloid. “Royal Victory in TV Fiasco,� said the Daily Mail.

An estimated 10 million people tuned in to the tumult. One critic called the show “licensed cockfighting,� another found it an “infantile charade,� and a third said it “makes Oprah Winfrey look up-market.�

“Is the standard of debate in the House of Commons that much better? I think people want a referendum on the monarchy and this is the next best thing,� executive producer Steve Clark said.

The queen wasn’t talking Wednesday, but Buckingham Palace voiced genteel delight in her victory in the extraordinary--and controversial--trial by television on the prime-time show, “Monarchy--the Nation Decides.�

“The quality of debate left something to be desired. It was more entertainment than a real opportunity to pursue discussion,� a palace spokesman said. But, he added, “it was encouraging that there was so much interest in the issues and, after the difficulties of recent years, that so many people took the trouble to show their support for the monarchy.�

Produced by the private Carlton Television network, the two-hour show featured a panel of well-known royalists and republicans. The future of the monarchy in Britain is a serious constitutional question, but the TV show was more glitz than content.

“I totally regret that I had any part in it. It was a disgrace,� said Bernard Ingham, former press secretary of Margaret Thatcher. Conservative legislator Steven Norris walked out before he ever got on the air: “I think it was utterly trivial and patronizing. I was quite prepared for a lively debate . . . but this was just a bear garden.�

A Carlton executive defended the show, saying it was the first chance that the British have had to express their opinions on the monarchy. Carlton claimed that the program had Britain’s largest studio audience ever, and the company asserted that the phone poll was the largest in the history of British television.

“I was very happy with the level of debate. People are very passionate about this and the public has strong views--and that was reflected in the program,� said Carlton producer Paul Corley.

“Do you want a monarchy?� was the crucial question. Besides the 2.5 million who voted, thousands more callers complained that they couldn’t get through to 14,000 special lines set up for the show.

Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953. Three years later, 35% of Britons questioned told pollsters that they thought their sovereign had been chosen by God. Historically, monarchists in Britain have avoided open conflict with republicans, seeing it as the equivalent of a gentleman wrestling with a chimney sweep and obeying the counsel of Victorian commentator Walter Bagehot against “letting daylight in upon magic.�

Ancillary votes by the studio audience showed that heir to the throne Prince Charles is less popular than his mother, his elder son Prince William and his sister, Princess Anne. The prospect of Charles ruling as king with his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles as queen was resoundingly rejected by studio voters.