The Queen and Prince Charles are often to be seen side-by-side, while Kate, Camilla and the Queen travel to Scotland next month for the COP26 summit in Glasgow. These are jobs which once would have been attended by a single generation of royals - now it's two and sometimes three. The national emergency of the past 19 months has brought a greater need from the nation to engage, when possible, with our first family.

       A royal visit always works wonders on morale and the House of Windsor has obliged. Photographers are having to work overtime.

       The other side of the coin is the defection of Prince Harry and the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew, two separate crises that have struck at the heart of monarchy and caused the remaining members to close ranks, think afresh and reboot their act.

       As a strategy it's working, and working well. More positive news flows daily than ever before, and as a result the institution is looking less shaky than it was a few months ago.

       Behind the smiles and the waves, however, lies a strategic recalibration to take account of the uncertainties next year, which is likely to prove the most challenging yet to face the Queen since she came to the throne.

       Without the constraints of public duty, there's no knowing what the Sussexes might do next.

       Their supporters point to the fact that Harry and Meghan's declared aim is to do good for the world, but there's barely a day when they don't dent the royal escutcheon back home.

       The impending trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, and the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein, hang over the royal house like the Sword of Damocles, dangling by a thread.