At last, the matter should have been settled. After the innumerable articles, social media posts and television pundits all speculating as to what, exactly, has happened to the Princess of Wales, it was revealed over the weekend that she had been seen with her husband, looking in good health, visiting a farm shop – that bastion of well-heeled Englishness. The story seems designed to reassure anyone that she is one of their own, as well as, one day, the future queen.

There was, of course, some scepticism about the Sun’s initial revelation, given that it was not substantiated with pictures or videos. So the development that there is, indeed, footage of her looking ‘happy and relaxed’ should, one hopes, put the near-endless rumours about the state of her health to bed. Even as it was being widely (and, at the time of writing, erroneously) speculated that the royal family was on the point of making an unspecified major announcement about one of their number, the widespread gossip and prurient suggestion seems to have been disproved by the recent leak.

Under normal circumstances, the usual royal motto of ‘never complain, never explain’ would hold

It remains unclear whether Kensington Palace will be horrified by the video of a private occasion being splashed all over a newspaper or, secretly, rather relieved. Given William’s ongoing desire to protect the privacy of himself and his family, it can only call to mind the harassment and intrusion that his mother once facedThere was growing pressure on the princess to be seen walking with her family at Easter (presumably in a nice new hat) and this has lessened that desire.

So that’s the end of it. Except, of course, it isn’t, remotely. It is easy to dismiss the rantings and ramblings of the very online as being dictated by a mixture of jealousy and boredom. But when a well-known historian was speculating on X last night that ‘it doesn’t look anything like her, and where were their protection officers – is it look-a-likes doing a prank?’, it is hard not to feel that a whole new seam of conspiracy theories has now been opened.

Certainly, there are reasonable questions to be asked about the circumstances of the visit, how it came to be filmed and how the footage then ended up in the possession of a newspaper. But the idea that the saga is rumbling on and this is yet another desperate attempt by royal private secretaries and press departments to throw the curious and prurient off the scent will make all but the most suspicious become weary.

The consensus seems to have settled that, when Kate does return to the public eye in a matter of weeks, she will have to offer some kind of explanation for her health issues. This will also be designed as a rebuke to those who have been coming up with increasingly bizarre explanations about the problems facing the royal family. (My favourite was that Prince Harry had been begged to come back and take over as king in the event of Charles’s illness progressing further. He refused, apparently.) If Kate doesn’t return, then all hell really will break loose.

Most people would consider it intrusive and unnecessary to have to justify their absence from public life because of what was clearly a serious health condition. Under normal circumstances, the usual royal motto of ‘never complain, never explain’ would hold. Yet these are, very clearly, not normal circumstances.

It has been fascinating, and not a little frightening, to see how obsessed people around the world have been by the saga of the disappearing princess. Even those of us who take the explanation for her withdrawal from public life at face value, and wish her well in her recovery, cannot help but sigh at the amateurish Photoshop blunder on Mother’s Day and the cringeworthy forced apology that followed. No doubt these few months will live on for a while in the more paranoid corners of the public imagination as a great cover-up, along with the faked moon landings, Princess Diana assassination and whatever happened to Lord Lucan and Shergar.

Yet for the rest of us, who may have been sucked in by the saga but are now willing it to end, this should be a satisfactory resolution. The fact that it clearly won’t be indicates how firmly the story has taken root, and how, in this most difficult and trying of years for the royal family, matters may yet worsen before they improve.