LONDON -- Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially began their separate lives Thursday as debate continued over the implications of their split for the future of the monarchy.
The prince and princess of Wales were to host their first joint engagement Thursday evening -- a private drinks party at Kensington Palace -- since the announcement of their separation Wednesday afternoon.
During the day Thursday, the pair carried out the separate engagements which have become the mark of their public life, and which helped fuel the months of media speculation that preceded Wednesday's announcement.
Diana, 31, reportedly began her day as usual -- traveling from the couple's London home at Kensington Palace to Buckingham Palace for her daily morning swim. She was later to attend a charity lunch, news reports said.
Television pictures later showed her at the Christmas function, shaking hands with a line of Santa Clauses. She appeared calm and smiled.
Charles also stayed overnight at Kensington Palace, which will be turned over for Diana's use. The prince, 44, went to his office before leaving for a business awards presentation. Later in the day he was to open a laboratory in London's docklands, Buckingham Palace said.
'The prince and princess of Wales are continuing with their normal public engagements,' a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the debate over the future of the British monarchy -- and specifically Charles's and Diana's roles in it -- continued to rage.
The arguments broke out after Prime Minister John Major announced in the House of Commons Wednesday the couple would separate but there were no plans for a divorce.
Some royal watchers felt Major's announcement was a precursor to further steps.
'He was clearly signaling to the world that there will be either a separation that will lead to a divorce or the prince of Wales will announce in the not-too-distant future he never wishes to become king,' said Harold Brooks-Baker, director and publisher of Burke's Peerage, the respected chronicle of the royal family.
Brooks-Baker added that 'separation' was the term first used by Buckingham Palace to announce the end of the marriage of Princess Anne, Charles's only sister. Anne, who holds the title of princess royal, was separated from Capt. Mark Phillips for three years before they were formally divorced earlier this year. She will re-marry Saturday, wedding Cmdr. Timothy Laurence in a ceremony in Scotland.
Major said the separation would not affect Charles's position as heir to the throne and future head of the Church of England, and would not prevent Diana from being crowned queen consort when Charles eventually succeeds his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
But Conservative backbencher Tony Marlow said the monarchy could not survive having a queen separated froma king.
'There is no way we could have a separated queen. The institution of monarchy would not survive that,' he said.
Other observers expressed doubts about the prospect, as The Guardian newspaper put it, of the couple 'arriving for their coronation in different carriages and returning to separate palaces.'
Lord St John of Fawsley, a member of the House of Lords and an expert on constitutional law, said there was nothing constitutionally to prevent Princess Diana from becoming queen.
'But it certainly requires a strong effort of imagination to project oneself forward into that situation,' he said.
The separation came at the end of a year which the queen has called her 'annus horribilis,' or horrible year, dominated by the break-up of Prince Andrew, the duke of York, and his wife 'Fergie,' and scandals involving several members of the royal family.
The announcement last week that Princess Anne was to re-marry appeared to provide a temporary relief from the clouds hanging over the House of Windsor.
Although Charles and Diana were continuing with their public engagements, Buckingham Palace declined to say whether they would attend Anne's wedding Saturday near the Scottish royal residence Balmoral.
The estranged royal couple were due Friday to carry out their first official duty since the announcement, attending a banquet with the queen on the royal yacht Britannia for European Community leaders attending an EC summit in Edinburgh.
