becoming very clear. Prince Charles is most unlikely ever to be King and Princess Diana will never be Queen. One of the surprising things about the Monarchy is how seldom the heir has actually occupied the throne. The Queen's father and her grandfather were not first in line.

The division between this couple must have been very serious for them to decide to split at a time when the Monarchy is already beleaguered. Many couples with much less at stake than the Prince and Princess of Wales manage a socially correct marriage of private separation but public togetherness. For public figures, accustomed to the glare of publicity, the Prince and Princess were remarkably inept at keeping up appearances.

It now seems clear that Princess Diana must have colluded, at least through her friends, in the sensational book published by Andrew Morton earlier this year. The book may well have been a kind of revenge on her husband for actual or perceived wrongs. "Diana, Her True Story'' must have both angered and hurt the Prince of Wales and may well have been the final blow to an unwise marriage.

The British press has taken a great deal of criticism because it has shown the Royal Family little mercy. But, so far, the press has proved accurate and well-informed. Everything major the press has pointed out has been true.

Therefore the press may well be correct about Prince Charles' relationships with women friends.

Buckingham Palace must also bear some blame for bad publicity. It did not take a public relations genius to know that it was unwise to send a deeply estranged couple off to Korea on tour without being certain that they would at least acknowledge one another in public.

We think that what the world has seen from London in the last few days is the beginning of a salvage operation for the Monarchy after what the Queen herself has called a horrible year. Clearly the statement that the Prince and Princess are not planning to divorce and Prime Minister John Major's statement that Princess Diana can still be Queen, are both unrealistic. It is impossible to imagine a separated Prince and Princess of Wales going through a Coronation which is essentially a religious ceremony.

It would seem clear that the situation is being dealt with in stages so as not to cause too great a public trauma and that the announcement of a separation is only stage one of a permanent split. We think the Prince and Princess will eventually seek a "mutual consent'' divorce in much the same way that Princess Anne was divorced. Once divorced, certainly Princess Diana could never be crowned Queen and it is hard to imagine Prince Charles being crowned unless he remains alone. He is unlikely to want to do that.

We think there is a much more likely scenario.

In time there will be a divorce. It will be announced that Prince Charles is giving up his right to the throne and, probably, also the title Prince of Wales in favour of his son, Prince William. Prince William is now ten and could ascend the throne at 18 without the need for a regency. Thus there is every likelihood that the transition from the Queen to her grandson would be smooth and that the heir would be a young man but, probably, a good deal older than 18.

Prince Charles would retire to his house in the country, perhaps with a new and more cosy wife, keeping a great deal of his wealth and his title as Duke of Cornwall. Princess Diana would continue with the public duties she fulfils so well and which make her so popular as the mother first of the heir and then of the King but not as Queen Mother, having never been Queen. She might remain as Diana, Princess of Wales, or might be given a new Princess title.

That's all a daunting prospect for Prince William at age ten but it seems to us to be a likely scenario. It is a scenario which the people could accept. It is also a relatively smooth way to move the monarchy away from a dysfunctional generation, hoping that the grandchildren will do it rather better.