Britain’s verdict on royals post Kate-gate: Nearly half say trust in the Kate and William has stayed the same while Harry and Meghan are the least trusted, 51% are aware of conspiracy theories and third say Palace has released too little details

Nearly half of people say their trust in the Prince and Princess of Wales has stayed the same despite 51 per cent being aware of conspiracy theories about Kate’s health. 

The Princess of Wales has been out of the public eye as she recovers from abdominal surgery on January 16, prompting a slew of hurtful rumours about the true nature of her condition.  

But public faith in her and William appears to be holding firm, with 49% of people saying their trust in them had remained the same over recent months, according to a YouGov poll for Sky News.

Out of those polled, 9% were less trusting of her but this was cancelled out by the same number saying their trust had increased. William fared similarly, with 49% of people trusting him the same, 10% trusting him more and 9% trusting him less. 

High trust in the Waleses comes despite a third  (36%) of people believing the Palace has released too little information about her surgery. 

Separate YouGov data from February shows William continues to be the most popular member of the royal family, with 77% having a positive view of him, largely the same as January’s score of 74%. Kate comes second with a 74% positive rating. 

These figures show the changing popularity of different members of the Royal Family 

High trust in Kate comes despite 51% of people seeing conspiracy theories about her health on social media 

A third believe the Palace has released too little information about her surgery

For Charles, 64% of the public believe the royals have released enough information about his health 

King Charles publicly disclosed he is undergoing treatment for cancer, although he has not said which form of cancer this is.  

When asked about King Charles for the Sky/YouGov survey – which was conducted from March 15 – 17, 72% said their trust in him had not changed, while 11% trusted him more. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain intensely polarising, and the poll suggests public trust in them has reduced even further in recent months.  

More than half (54%) of those surveyed said they do not trust Meghan and 11% said their trust in her had reduced. Meanwhile, just 47% trust Harry and 13% said their trust in him had gone down. 

The Sussexes remain unpopular overall, with just 23% expressing a positive view of Meghan and 30% doing so for Harry, the separate data from February shows.    

Prince William was cheered as he returned to royal duties today just hours after the first footage of his wife since her abdominal surgery emerged.

The Prince of Wales is in Sheffield to further his aim to help end homelessness in Britain in the next five years as his wife continues her recuperation from abdominal surgery.

William waved to crowds and spoke to families who have experienced homelessness while visiting the city, which is one of six locations for his Homewards initiative, which he set up in 2023.

This afternoon the heir to the throne will meet community representatives and grassroots organisations taking part in a workshop to help design a new housing project in South Yorkshire.

It came hours after millions in Britain and around the world were thrilled to see the smiling and spritely Princess of Wales properly for the first time since mid-January.

The footage published by The Sun shows the future queen walking quickly with a bag of shopping and chatting animatedly to her husband on Saturday afternoon.

December 25, 2023: Kate was last seen with her family attending church at Sandringham 

Prince William waves to a cheering crowd in Sheffield today as he returned to royal duties

March 11: Prince William and Kate are seen leaving Windsor together as they are driven in a car 

March 10: Kensington Palace released the first picture of Kate since her abdominal surgery. This turned out to have been edited 

It also smashed bizarre, baseless and hurtful conspiracy theories being spread about her online including that she is dead, has been replaced by a body double or the Wales’ marriage is in trouble.

One royal source told the Telegraph: ‘Finally everyone can calm down’.

 It also emerged today that the Palace is accelerating plans for the Princess of Wales’ return to full royal duties as soon as possible now she is clearly on the mend.

The earlier she can appear the quicker cruel rumours will be banished, an insider said, adding: ‘The teams are working round the clock to devise the Princess of Wales’s back-to-work plan after weeks of immense pressure’.

And a source close to William today made clear he was determined to ignore speculation surrounding Kate, telling MailOnline: ‘His focus is Homewards today.’ 

MailOnline understands that the couple have become aware of much of what is being said and are deeply saddened and distressed by the often vile speculation.

Kensington Palace has repeatedly declined to comment and a source close to William today made clear he was determined to ignore the conjecture.

‘His focus is Homewards today,’ they said. 

A change to the biographies of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York on The Royal Family website was also disclosed yesterday.

It is understood the changes, which included giving Harry and Meghan one joint biography page, were part of a routine content update.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been removed from the Royal Family’s official website – four years after Megixt. Pictured: The couple pictured in May 2023 

Despite acrimoniously stepping down as senior working royals in January 2020, full profiles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex separately had remained up alongside of the rest of the Royal Family until this morning.

Last night those pictures and biographies briefly vanished completely.

Within half an hour they were replaced with a significantly smaller, joint biography at the very bottom of the page – below the Duke of York.

The Sussexes’ entry now reads that they have stepped back as working royals, with just a couple of short paragraphs on each of them.

Prince Andrew’s entry was also updated, setting the seal on his fall from grace.