All the Queen's Ministers

By Jill Smolowe

Twice a week Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher goes before the British House of Commons to answer questions from the floor. Although the proceedings get heated at times, the opening moves of each Tuesday's Question Time are predictably dull: Thatcher lists her pending official engagements, then usually concludes, "And this evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen." Last week that routine statement nearly brought down the House. The opposition benches erupted in jeers, while Thatcher's Tories fired back with a defensive round of cheers for their leader.

The unusual outburst was triggered by a provocative newspaper article. The London Sunday Times, citing "sources close to the Queen," had reported that Elizabeth II was "dismayed by many of Mrs. Thatcher's policies." For weeks there had been rumors that Her Majesty was not amused by divisions within the 49-member Commonwealth over Thatcher's refusal to consider sanctions against South Africa. But the Sunday Times's story went further. It charged that "the Queen considers the Prime Minister's approach often to be uncaring, confrontational and socially divisive." Specifically, the report continued, the monarch feels that the Thatcher government "lacks compassion" and that its policies threaten to "undermine the consensus in British politics that has served the country well" since World War II.

Phew! It was enough to raise the prospect of a constitutional crisis. The Queen, after all, is expected in her capacity as head of state to exercise absolute impartiality. Both Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street promptly doused the incendiary report. "Absolute rubbish!" insisted a spokesman for the Prime Minister. "Entirely without foundation," echoed a spokesman for the Queen. But most Members of Parliament, like much of the country, believed that the leaks, though perhaps not authorized, accurately reflected the Queen's views.

Palace insiders readily offer that Her Majesty is not always comfortable with Thatcher's shrillness, her tendency to lecture and her radical conservatism. Instead, the Queen is characterized as a moderate who shares her eldest son's social concerns about race relations and urban deterioration. Thus rose the unlikely speculation that the "palace mole" may have been none other than Prince Charles, a rumor that the Sunday Times refuted.

If the Queen is unhappy with her Prime Minister, it may be because she wears more than one crown. She is also head of the Commonwealth, a club of former British colonies, which some believe Thatcher is goading toward a full- scale crisis. The member nations' scorn of Thatcher's "negotiations, not sanctions" policy only deepened last week after an uninspiring meeting between British Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe and South African State President P.W. Botha.

Meanwhile, the mounting spirit of defiance was on display as the 13th Commonwealth Games opened in Edinburgh. Only 27 of the 58 teams originally enrolled showed up for the opening ceremonies, the rest having dropped out to press their demands for sanctions. Thatcher can expect no relief when she meets in London next week with the leaders of six other Commonwealth nations. The summiteers will also dine at Buckingham Palace, where all ears will be cocked to hear what the Queen has to say. Although she never airs her political opinions publicly, it is her royal prerogative, and indeed her constitutional duty, to consult with her Prime Ministers.

With reporting by Christopher Ogden/London