ONE of the Queen's chaplains last night attacked what he said was a tendency to turn Diana, Princess of Wales into a ''romanticised'' and ''over-simplified'' icon.

Canon Eric James made his comments, in the context of her ''string of affairs'', from the pulpit of Westminster Abbey in the Eric Symes Abbott Memorial Lecture.

Canon James, Extra Chaplain to the Queen since retiral from a full-time chaplaincy in 1995, also questioned the hereditary principle of the monarchy.

He told the congregation: ''Last year, at the time of Princess Diana's death, she was often said to be an icon. We were told that Diana was an icon of compassion; and this was clearly true.

''But for the whole truth's sake, it will not quite do to leave the matter there. There were other icons of Diana.

''There was the icon of a princess who, after the tragedy of a her broken marriage, was understandably involved in a compulsive search for another companion and partner in a string of affairs.

''Icons should never be romanticised nor over-simplified. And where the Princess Diana was concerned, there was the complex contemporary question of the relation between the public and the private self.''

Canon James then proceeded to court further controversy by describing the system by which the eldest child inherits the throne as a ''lottery'' and the current royal court system a ''breeding ground of toadying sycophants''.

He said: ''The problem of a hereditary monarchy is obvious and simple. The monarch now may be above reproach; but you can never tell what you are going to get. And there's not a lot to be said for such a lottery.

''In England, until 1213, the monarch was elected. Maybe the time is returning for election to task and role.''

While praising the Queen for her work he said it was time for profound reflection and reconsideration of the role of the monarch.

He said: ''The question needs to be posed again, in our time, whether the mere accident of birth can ever now be expected to produce a man or woman fit for the role that royalty requires.''

Criticising the royal court which ''hedges the monarch'', he said: ''Security is the breeding ground of toadying sycophants.''

After the lecture he said that he had not intended his remarks to be seen as implied criticism of any member of the royal family.

He added: ''Preaching without a pastoral concern for the royal family, and for its future, is to my mind, unthinkable.''

qThe Dean of Westminster Abbey yesterday defended ''as a mark of respect'' his decision to donate fees meant for the choirboys who sang at the funeral of Diana to the memorial fund set up in her name. Dr Wesley Carr has been threatened with legal action by parents of the choristers, who say they were never told that BBC and ITN broadcast fees of around #2500 were due to the boys.