Whatever we may have thought about the royal family making themselves more open, accountable, and in touch after the death of Princess Diana, we were clearly wrong.

They have learned nothing.

In the wake of the Burrell fiasco and all the sordid accusations swirling around Buckingham and St James's Palaces, the Windsors have still decided the old ways are the best ways.

In other words, do nothing and the problems will go away. It is the only conclusion to draw from Prince Charles' decision to confine the investigation to an internal inquiry, headed by his private secretary Sir Michael Peat.

Upright and honest as Sir Michael may be, he is hardly likely to bite off the hand that feeds him, let alone the whole arm.

He has already hinted he does not think there is any evidence to prove any of the sexual, financial or moral accusations. And of course, the Queen will not even be questioned.

What a field day for republicans and conspiracy theorists! What a glut of sleaze, greed, sexual perversion and malignant jealousies has been served up for them to feast on.

But then, this family has always been swathed in rumours of adulterous relationships. The only difference in the past has been that newspaper editors and broadcasters were infinitely more deferential and would suppress stories likely to embarrass the Windsors.

As far back as the mid 1950's, there was gossip about alleged infidelity by the Duke of Edinburgh, followed by similar stories about the young Queen Elizabeth.

Significantly perhaps, when the Macmillan government cabinet papers for 1959 were released 30 years later in 1990, it was revealed the royal family was discussed on three occasions.

However, the subject matter of those discussions was judged so sensitive, one item was sealed with a fifty year embargo, the other two for a hundred years - not to be opened until 2060!

Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne as well as Princess Diana and the Duchess of York have all had their sexual dalliances trumpeted around the world.

A fixated international press has long ago thrown off all semblance of deference. So it is hardly surprising that republican organisations in Britain such as Republic, have called for DNA testing of all royals receiving money from the British taxpayer.

Their argument is straightforward. If an institution is founded upon heredity, then it is only right that that heredity be proved.

It is not a new demand but, hardly surprisingly, there has been no royal response. Nor is there likely to be.

The latest twist in this whole squalid saga is that the Duchess of York has been banned by Buckingham Palace from appearing on the BBC's Michael Parkinson show. They felt she could not be trusted to keep her mouth shut at such a sensitive time for the Windsors.

Never has the time-bomb beneath the family been ticking quite so loudly.