Nepal’s beleaguered monarch tonight made a humiliating televised climbdown, when he ordered the reinstatement of parliament, the key demand of anti-monarchist protesters.

After 19 days of street protests, that have paralyzed the Himalayan kingdom, a contrite King Gyanendra apologised to his subjects for the deaths of civilians and gave in to the key demand of the seven-party alliance opposed to his rule.

"We, through this proclamation, reinstate the house of representatives which was dissolved on May 22, 2002," said the King in a brief statement read on national television.

The speech was intended to head-off what was widely expected to be the largest street protest scheduled for tomorrow hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are due to swamp the streets of Kathmandu.

The tactic appeared to have worked tonight. Senior figures in the opposition alliance welcomed the offer and said that today’s massive protest would probably be postponed.

"It is the victory of the people’s movement," said Arjun Narsingh KC, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress, the country’s largest political party.

Allowing parliament to reconvene is an important concession. King Gyanendra shut down the assembly in 2002 and has run the country as a virtual dictatorship ever since.

If parliament is allowed to reconvene on Friday, it could call new elections for an assembly to prepare a new constitution. In turn that could end the bloody insurgency between government security forces and Maoist rebels, who may be lured into mainstream politics.

The offer could also cost the King his powers and leave him as a figurehead. It could also spell the end of the country’s monarchy altogether.

Nevertheless, observers feel that King Gyanendra had little choice but to capitulate after intense pressure from within Nepal and from the international community, particularly the country’s giant neighbour India.

"He had three choices: to flee, to fight or to backdown," said Gareth Price, the head of the Asia Department at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

In addition to his offer to the opposition, King Gyanendra also apologised to his subjects for the deaths of 14 protesters killed in clashes with riot police.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their lives in the people’s movement," he said.

"We are confident the nation will forge ahead toward sustainable peace, progress, full-fledged democracy and national unity."

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