Princess Diana is set to arrive in Moscow on Thursday afternoon for a brief and low-key "working visit" that will concentrate on children's social issues.


Royal-watchers hoping for titillating tidbits will be sorely disappointed: The Princess of Wales, whose troubled marriage to the heir to the throne has scandalized Britain and rocked the royal family, will maintain a rugged and somber schedule during her first visit to Russia.


She has packed a host of worthy activities into just one 24-hour period, including a call on Lyudmila Bezlepkina, the Social Security Minister; a visit to Motivation, a charity that makes and distributes wheelchairs to children with cerebral palsy; and an appearance at the Tushkinskaya Children's Hospital.


This heavy itinerary will be relieved by a performance of "Les Sylphides" at the Bolshoi Theater, and the obligatory inspection of the Kremlin.


"This visit is important to us in that it can help bring the plight of disabled children in Russia to the world's attention," said Christine Cornick, Motivation's fundraising manager. "It is very helpful to be able to show people that there is something that can be done."


Motivation is a British-based charity that began its Russia operation just one year ago. Since then, it has attracted sponsors, trained Russian staff, and has manufactured the first three wheelchairs, which will be given out during the royal visit Friday.


"I know it seems like the most incredible coincidence," laughed Cornick, "but it really did just work out that way."


Princess Diana will also visit a children's hospital in her capacity as the patron of the Tushinskaya Children's Hospital Trust. The trust is a British organization that was set up to provide aid in the wake of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, when a number of victims were brought to the Tushinskaya Hospital for treatment.


Since its inception the trust has channeled ?174,000 ($270,000) to the hospital, and sponsored a number of projects designed to improve training of pediatric specialists in Russia.


While the British Embassy is handling the visit with cool aplomb, some Russian officials seemed a bit taken aback by all the media attention.


"What do you mean, what is the hospital doing to get ready?" muttered a surly Igor Nadezhdin of the Health Ministry. "They are doing what anyone would when they have guests coming: washing the windows, washing the floors."


Nadezhdin, to whom all questions regarding Diana's visit are being referred, professed himself in ignorance even of the timing of her arrival at the hospital.


"She's a princess, she can do whatever she wants," he said. "I think only the queen can tell her what to do."


The princess will arrive and depart on regularly scheduled British Airways flights and will stay at the British Embassy.


So far the Russian press has devoted little attention to the event, perhaps because the princess will share the spotlight with another famous Diana: The American singer, Diana Ross, also arrives in Moscow on Thursday.