Royal Treatment : The Duchess of York Surveys the Kingdom of Hollywood

Sarah, the Duchess of York, flew into town on Tuesday, and by her departure Thursday evening, she had dined with Hollywood executives, signed hundreds of autographs and taken meetings with at least half a dozen TV studio and programming chiefs to discuss her future.

In a matter of days, the former wife of Prince Andrew, who had a storybook wedding in Westminster Abbey a decade ago, had embarked upon another, more modern fairy tale--she had submitted herself to the Hollywood star-making machinery.

On the heels of a disarmingly confessional bestseller about her marriage into the royal family and fresh from a month of appearances on national television talk shows, Sarah has intrigued Hollywood, and the feeling is mutual.

The 37-year-old former Sarah Ferguson--”Fergie” as she is often called--traveled through L.A. with two personal assistants and on Thursday essentially held court at the offices of ICM, the powerful talent agency that represents her here. For hours, she talked with development chiefs and other network officials and television syndicators about various vehicles, including possibly hosting a talk show.

Among those talking with her during her visit were Paramount Television and Buena Vista Television, which produces the very popular “Regis and Kathie Lee Show” as well as “Siskel and Ebert.”

“This was really an exploration for her to hear what people had to say,” said one well-placed Hollywood source, who noted that the interest was sparked by the phenomenal response to her recent appearances on talk shows. “Every show she was on jumped in ratings.”

On Tuesday night, she had a Hollywood power dinner with ABC Entertainment chief Jamie Tarses and Chairman Ted Harbert, amid talk that ABC is considering Sarah for a television special.

On Wednesday, her appearance to sign books at Vroman’s in Pasadena attracted hundreds of admirers who stood in line in the rain.

“People think of her as a multimedia provider,” said one source. “It’s not just TV. She wrote a book.”

Sarah’s foray into Hollywood is an astonishing departure for a former star of the British royal family, albeit an estranged one.

The Windsors may have fallen a bit in stature--and Charles and Diana, the divorced Prince and Princess of Wales, may have given one or two tortured interviews--but they don’t host TV talk shows.

However, Sarah, whose irreverent manner embarrassed the palace but endeared her to Americans, has embraced the television medium. She was cozily frank with Diane Sawyer, appealingly vulnerable on Letterman and witty on Leno, her signature red hair movie-star sleek.

“She’s a natural,” said her New York publicist, Howard Rubenstein. “Her color is good, her language is good, the camera treats her well.”

She’s even discussing the possibility of being a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers. Sarah’s struggles with her weight have long been fodder for British tabloids. Currently slender, she was once branded the “Duchess of Pork.”

“The nutritionists at Weight Watchers have met with her. She’s very knowledgeable,” said Rubenstein, who also represents Weight Watchers and helped put his two clients together. “A few months ago, she went to [their] classes in New York.”

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Of course, some in Hollywood wonder if she has what it takes. “The general buzz is that beyond her royaltyness, what is there?” said one studio person.

“Yeah, she can sell out a venue like a bookstore or do well on Leno or Letterman but beyond that . . . what else can she do? Can she be another Rosie?”

In the world of talk shows, Rosie O’Donnell shot to prominence like a rocket. Clearly Sarah doesn’t have her acting or comedic background. But as television companies seek to drain the television talk show pool of its murkier elements, Sarah is a possible candidate to help define the new friendlier talk show genre.

She is a combination of royalty and redemption. She retains just enough royal gloss as the Duchess of York and the mother of two daughters who rank fifth and sixth in line to the throne. At the same time, her tumble from grace has been bumpy and her admission of failure public and rueful.

She talks in her book “My Story” about racking up a multimillion-dollar debt over the last decade. A talk show would certainly help defray that. And she writes that she was humiliated after scandalous photos emerged of her American friend, John Bryan, seemingly sucking her toes as she sunned herself topless in France:

I pinned on my scarlet letter--mine would be a T, for toe-sucking--and wore it everywhere, with a sort of perverse comfort.

“What people are telling her is ‘You connect with people’ and that’s what a talk show host does,” said one industry source.

Officials of television companies--which generally make it a point not to comment on anything in development--were circumspect about their encounters with the duchess. “From what I understand, she’s meeting with every studio in town,” said one source, downplaying the significance of any one of those discussions.

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Even if she gets an offer, Sarah will have some decisions to make. The obvious one: Where would she do this talk show? Sarah lives in England with her two children. “She’s not going to move to the United States,” Rubenstein said flatly. So how would she do a talk show?

“How she’s going to manage that will be decided,” he said.