The UK's latest soap: Washing royal linen

"God save the Queen", a British columnist has recently written, as she is "desperately in need of divine intervention, or at least a small miracle, since all the powers and principalities of this world seem to be hell-bent on bringing the monarchy down."

Minette Marrin, herself a royalist, and many other similar writers, who identify themselves closely with the Windsors, find it very hard to be royalist these days. A case for reforming the "House of Windsor" seems to be in the making.

United Kingdom is not a pleasant place for members of the royal family to be in at the moment. They are being torn apart as the integrity of the family's core, i.e. the Queen and Crown Prince Charles, is under scrutiny.

This is very much the case since the moment when the trial of the late Princess of Wales, Princess Diana's closest butler, Paul Burrell, collapsed as a result of a sudden and belated intervention by the Queen.

A simple case against a butler, accused of stealing items of the princess's possessions after her death, has turned out to become a saga that taints everyone who dares touch it.

For three weeks, Burrell was in the dock silently suffering as the accusations against him were mounting by the day, as they were being made by the prosecution.

Suddenly a "heavenly hand" intervened. On the day the Burrell's case was due to be handed to the defence, the Queen miraculously recalled a conversation she had had with the butler after Diana's tragic death accident, during which he informed her of taking "some items" of Diana's possessions for "safe-keeping".

Now we know the conversation, was not casual but lasted some "three hours" with Burrell standing. And we also know that among the items taken by Burrell was a "locked box" which contained a recording - now known as the "rape tape".

It sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Before we carry on, let us have a look at who is who in the butler allegations which already being referred to as the "butler soap".

Now we have two characters: An accused and a victim. "The accused" is a senior member of staff working for Prince Charles, alleged to have raped in England and attempted to sexually assault another member of staff, a footman, on a visit with the prince to Egypt.

"The victim" who has come out and waived his right to anonymity, is a former Welsh Guard and a 42-year-old Falklands veteran and royal footman George Smith. He told his story in the Mail on Sunday.

The main players in the saga are: Paul Burrell, the former butler whose trial brought the "rape tape" to light. "I have never heard the tape, but I know the names but I would never talk about it," he says in his revelation to the Mirror.

Princess Diana: Did not obey her husband. She secretly recorded the conversation with the alleged victim as she sat by his bed in Priory Clinic. She then locked the tape away in a wooden box which is among Burrell's "safe-keepings".

Prince Charles: Told Diana she had been listening to "too much downstairs gossip," according to the butler. Then he oversaw the departure of alleged rape victim.

Lady Sarah (Spencer) McCorquodale (nick-named Mrs. Crocodile by the butler): opened the box with Burrell after the death of the princess, her sister, but lost track of its contents. She asked Scotland Yard to find them, which led to the raid on Burrell's flat in January and to the trial.

Sir David Calvert-Smith: Director of Public Prosecutions decided that the rape allegations should not be pursued, after the alleged attacker said the sex was consensual.

Fiona Shackelton: Became key legal advisor to Charles after handling his divorce. She advised him to keep the rape inquiry in-house. She was thought to have been keen on prosecuting Burrell.

Mark Bolland: Spin doctor working for Charles helped rebuild the Prince's image after Daina's death. Disliked Shackleton and the way the rape allegations were handled. He was considered to have opposed trial of Burrell.

Her Majesty: She allowed the trial to go ahead after being (falsely) told Burrell was selling Diana's possessions. But she caused the trial to collapse after recalling her conversation with the butler. Do we need to know more? "Of course", the biographer of the Princess of Wales, Beatrix Campbell screams. "Of course," she says, "the answer is yes, yes, yes."

Revelation, revelation after revelation. Burrell is only the latest in a long line of employees to dish the dirt on the royal family. Only a few months ago, Princess Diana's bodyguard, Ken Wharf, was at it.

Before him, there was the ex-naval officer, Patrick Jephson, who published his own account about the princess. Prince Charles's former valet, Stephen Barry, also wrote a book, available only in the United States for legal reasons.

Every time a revelation is made, from the public point of view, a wall of secrecy is broken. A former editor of The Daily Telegraph, Max Hastings, who does not hide his loyalty to the monarch, has recently revealed some personal secrets.

In his autobiography, Hastings revealed that Charles is in the habit of taking his own towels and lavatory paper with him when he stays away from home. He also specifies, prior to his arrival, to his hosts the precise texture and dimension of the sandwiches to be served during his visit.

There have been many scandals in royal circles in the past, but this one seems to become more and more serious by the day.

Now Paul Burrell has revealed that the prince's valet was expected to hold the specimen bottle while HRH provided a urine sample during a hospital visit.

"Whatever we might think of Paul Burrell, not least that his abject royalism is the source of his suffering," Beatrix Campbell explains, "the servant is felicitous: He helps us to understand the visceral lore of loyalty to a greater power."

Despite the colourful aspects of the royalties such as Trooping the Colours and Changing the Guards, the monarchy is proving, through recent revelations, to be the most patriarchal institution in the country.

With a prime minister in Downing Street, reputed for his strong views on reforms, a "furious" Tony Blair may bring forward the date for reforming not only the Windsors, but also the British justice system.

Mustapha Karkouti is the former president of Foreign Press Association in London.