THE announcement that the Prince and Princess of Wales are to divorce is a chapter that was already written in the one-time fairy-tale of a royal marriage that was clearly on the rocks long ago.

But, for the monarchy, it is the impact of this break-up on its own future chapters that, we think, will count.

For out of this mess, the House of Windsor has emerged a clear loser as far as the public is concerned - perceived as hard-hearted, calculating and selfish.

It is Princess Diana who walks off with the sympathy vote; all the more so, as the divorce is portrayed, not as one she has sought, but one she is forced to accept.

Thus Princess Charles heads towards kingship with the Crown tarnished in the public's mind and the romance and majesty of monarchy ruined - perhaps for good or even to its destruction - by this story's descent into bitterness and recrimination.

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