THE QUEEN'S SECRET. Templeton, Charles. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, c1986. 379pp, cloth, $22.95, ISBN 0-7710-8451-X. CIP Grades 10 and up Reviewed by David Chadwick Volume 15 Number 1 1987 January Charles Templeton has had a distinguished career as an evangelist, journalist, commentator, and more recently, as an author of three commercially successful novels. This, the fourth, tells of the tragic results that occur when a lax security system allows an intruder for the second time, to break into the apartment of the British monarch. As a plot concept it certainly would have been sensational ten or twenty years ago, but the glory days of royalty are clearly waning. Royal weddings continue to be popular gala affairs, watched now by millions thanks to the wonders of satellite television, but the scandal of Mrs. Simpson, the divorcee, marrying the King now seems quaint and archaic to a generation weaned on People magazine and prime-time soap operas. The British nobility itself is now in decline, and with even the relevance of the nobility in question, a novel featuring a fictional royal family must have strong characterizations to be successful. Templeton succeeds very well in giving the reader the physical details of British landmarks and the history of institutions. The characters, while intelligent, do not display depth or warmth, and it is hard to feel sympathetic with them, particularly the members of the royal family. All in all, an entertainment in the Graham Greene style, but not one that provokes much thought or interest. School libraries would be wise to hold off purchase until the paperback edition comes out. David Chadwick, Winnipeg, Man.