Their case number is listed in the High Court Family Division under "Unassigned Cases". This means that neither the judge to hear the case nor the venue has been chosen.

But the general opinion among divorce lawyers who have been watching the case is that both these have already been decided but will not be posted to keep the warring couple away from the eyes of the media.

The hearing is almost certainly connected with money - how much Heather wants and what Sir Paul is prepared to pay to avoid further court hearings which could become public if either takes the fight to the Court of Appeal.

It has been put forward in the past that Sir Paul has offered in the region of £20 million and Ms Mills is after something more like £50 million.

Divorce lawyers believe there will be a settlement, with Sir Paul agreeing to increase his offer from his estimated £825 million fortune.

The deal is expected to outstrip the £48 million insurance broker John Charman, 53, was ordered to pay his former wife Beverley in May this year in the biggest contested divorce settlement to date.

Sir Paul and Ms Mills, who have a four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, announced last May that they were ending their four-year marriage.

Former Beatle Sir Paul, 65, faces a total payout approaching £70 million to provide for Ms Mills, 39, and their child, according to some divorce specialists.

When the couple announced their split, Sir Paul denied statements that his wife had married him for his money and said the parting was "amicable" but subsequent spats in the courts over what was believed to be care of their child and public statements by Ms Mills did not support this.