SARAH VINE: After losing our trust in recent weeks, the royals have a lot of work to do to live up to the late Queen's famous maxim: 'I have to be seen to be believed'

One week on from that disastrous Mother’s Day photo debacle, and a brief, unofficial video-clip of the Prince and Princess of Wales emerging from a Windsor Farm Shop at the weekend has finally provided a reassuringly mundane answer to the question that has been dominating the internet for weeks now: ‘Where is Kate?’

Simple: where she’s always been, at home with her family, recovering following an operation. Shot by a member of the public, it shows the Princess of Wales chatting and laughing with her husband as the pair carry their groceries to the car.

Her appearance will come as a welcome relief to all those, such as myself, who have been increasingly concerned about the snowballing of deranged online rumours, and the apparent inability of Kensington Palace to manage expectations of her recovery in anything approaching a competent manner.

The Prince of Wales at work on a homelessness project as he returned to royal duties in Sheffield today

Indeed, if Palace officials have shown us anything over the past few days it’s that they haven’t the first clue how to do their jobs properly. That Mother’s Day photo they released, which was later withdrawn by all reputable picture agencies over concerns it had been tampered with, should never have seen the light of day. 

Even if the Princess was, as she said, responsible for the alterations, someone should have identified it as a potential problem, and advised her strongly against releasing it, thus saving her the agony of having to own up to it.

Leave it to a member of the great British public to clear up their mess: one Nelson Silva, 40, who was shopping for steak when he spotted the royal couple in the bread aisle. He whipped out his iPhone 12 when he got to the car park – and the rest is history.

The footage is brief but reassuring. This is Catherine as the British public rarely gets to see her, just a wife and mum out shopping with her husband at the weekend.

The Mother's Day photo which Kate apologised for after admitting she had altered it

Perhaps because we’re so used to picturing her in full regalia, dressed up to the nines, elegantly coiffed and impeccably groomed, dripping in jewels, at first glance this Princess of Wales - fresh-faced, dressed like any other countryside yummy mummy in leggings, trainers and what looks like a hoodie (a hoodie?!) - almost seems unrecognisable.

She certainly doesn’t appear to be struggling with her health. On the contrary: she’s full of beans and looks more 24 than 42. I mean, seriously: how many women her age, with three children, could have such a spring in their step so soon after such a serious operation, not to mention look so fabulous without a single scrap of make-up on their face?

But the Princess of Wales is no ordinary woman. During her 12 years as a royal spouse – the couple will celebrate their 13th anniversary in April – the former Ms Middleton has not only shown how clearly she understands the assignment and the expectations surrounding her role, but also that she is made of far stronger stuff than that delicate outward appearance of hers might imply.

In particular, to have weathered the storm of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure from royal life, and the subsequent toxic fallout and very vicious personal attacks on her own character would have tested anyone to their limits. Her grace in the face of it all has not only marked her out as a woman of quality, it has also placed her in even higher estimation in the minds of the British public.

Prince William is a very lucky man, and I hope he knows it. This woman will not only make an exemplary Queen, she already is a queen. As the young people say.

Speaking of queens, the footage is also proof positive of the effectiveness of one of the late Queen Elizabeth’s favourite mantras: ‘I have to be seen to be believed’. That is why last week’s botched photograph caused such a hoo-ha: it couldn’t be believed because it had very obviously been tampered with.

This footage, by contrast, appears very much to be incontestable, although that hasn’t stopped some people from trying: social media is still rife with conspiracy theories, ranging from the notion that they are both lookalikes to the idea that the whole thing has been generated by AI.

One of the late Queen Elizabeth’s favourite mantras was ‘I have to be seen to be believed’

For the record, the metadata – digital information about a picture which helped spot the anomalies in the Mother’s Day photo – shows it to be genuine.

After such a catastrophic catalogue of errors recently, it’s a relief to see things finally going the right way for the Royal Family. But trust, as the late Queen understood so well, is something that takes a very long time to be earned and is easily lost. 

In future, Palace officials might want to be mindful of this as they strive to put the confusing (and damaging, not least for the Princess herself) events of the past few weeks behind them.