Prince William drew a crowd in Sheffield last summer, as he launched the Homewards project
By Sean Coughlan & Daniela Relph
Royal correspondent
The Prince of Wales will visit housing initiatives in Sheffield on Tuesday to promote his homelessness project.
It comes as the Sun published a photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales, on a shopping trip with Prince William.
After being out of public sight since Christmas, she looked relaxed and smiling in video images from a farm shop in Windsor.
The prince will be hoping the focus will return to one of his personal causes.
The prince and princess have had a difficult start to the year, with Catherine having abdominal surgery and spending time in recovery. She is expected to return to public duties after Easter.
Her health has been the subject of widespread and often wild conspiracy theories on social media and rumours by internet sleuths.
Until now we have seen a grainy photo of the princess in a car and thatpin-sharp but hotly disputed picture for Mother’s Day, which was withdrawn by photo agencies following concerns it had been digitally altered. This only added to the mood of febrile uncertainty about her health.
On Monday night, the Sun and other newspapers published a photo of the royal couple shopping near their home in Windsor at the weekend, taken from a video clip supplied by a member of the public.
This video, although unconfirmed by Kensington Palace, suggests something much more optimistic and everyday than the wild and outlandish claims being made on social media.
It will not stop the spin-cycle of rumours, which will now speculate whether it’s really them, but it is the clearest evidence so far of Catherine looking well during her recuperation.
Royal commentator Caroline Aston said that new pictures and the possibility of fresh conspiracy theories on social media won’t help Catherine recover from her serious surgery.
She told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Recovery can be long and hard and it’s a mental struggle too and, frankly I don’t think recent events will have helped the princess’ recovery that much.”
Meanwhile the Telegraph reported that picture agency Getty has said that a photograph issued in 2022 of the late Queen Elizabeth, showing her surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren was “digitally enhanced at source”.
Kensington Palace has made no official comment on the new footage from the farm shop, but has not denied that the photo is of the couple.
We are told the video was taken by a member of the public – and the royal couple could hardly have expected to wander down to their local shop without expecting to be spotted.
But part of the reluctance of Kensington Palace to confirm what would otherwise be a positive story is the thorny question it raises about privacy.
It could set a difficult precedent for a couple wanting to protect as much as possible of normal family life especially after the team around the prince and princess has asked, repeatedly, for their privacy to be respected while Catherine recovers.
Image source, PA Media
The family was last pictured together in public at Christmas in Sandringham
And although US publications ran paparazzi photos of the princess last month, the UK press did not publish them.
The difference in running this picture might be the sheer howling volume of interest on social media, with fake claims about imminent announcements and wild speculation.
It was so intense there were conspiracy theories about the conspiracy theories. Was this all being co-ordinated?
Prince William and Catherine and their PR team are acutely aware of this pressure, as they try to hunker down in this strange media storm. They are millennial royals, not cut off from what is being said.
This latest photograph of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the accompanying speculation, could overshadow William’s trip to Sheffield.
But the prince will want the emphasis to be on one of his most important projects – an ambitious five-year scheme to tackle homelessness based at six location around the UK and launched last year.
Image source, Cameron Smith/PA Media
Prince William visited a youth project in Sheffield as part of the launch of Homewards
That includes Sheffield, where the prince will meet people who have faced housing insecurity and hear about some of the projects addressing what seems to be a worsening problem.
The Homewards initiative is Prince William’s “flagship project” and he takes a close personal interest in how its local partnerships are developing, a royal source says.
To coincide with the visit, the DIY chain Homebase is donating 1,500 “starter packs” of furniture, paint and other items to help families moving into new accommodation.
Helping to organise the packs will be housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa, who said: “Safe, permanent and secure housing is paramount to ensure homelessness does not become part of a family’s story.”
Making families feel comfortable and “supporting their wellbeing” was also proven to reduce future homelessness.
The prince’s visit will also see support from some of the Sheffield’s landlords, with 33 three and four-bedroom properties being made available for “families on the brink of or experiencing homelessness”.
The approach of the Homewards project is to bring together grassroots organisations, charities and commercial partners to form local coalitions.
The scale of the problem in Sheffield was highlighted by annual figures showing 4,000 people or families had applied to be registered as homeless, the council’s highest figure so far and up 500 on the previous year.
Last month, the government announced £3m in funding for Sheffield City Council to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness.
