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As the crowd cheered to see the Princess of Wales run over to a stunned flower-laden fan for a selfie, one royal couple can only imagine such adoration. Kate, 44, and Prince William were in Scotland on Tuesday to promote the country's heritage when she slipped her minders and started running towards the screaming crowd.

It must have been a 'hearts in mouth' job for her security as she stopped getting into the royal Range Rover after spotting the pleading red-headed fan waving the blooms at her. Rather than thinking 'I've done my duty today, let's get out of the freezing cold!' she darted towards metal barriers, nattered to the disbelieving fan, took the flowers and posed for a few selfies. William also wandered over to spend more time with a different set of thrilled onlookers.

It all looked so relaxed - so easy and natural. The joy on the faces of the crowd was genuine and clear to see.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have worked hard to get to this level of adoration and taken a fair few knocks on the way - from her private battle with cancer to cruel public barbs from another royal couple across the Atlantic.

But that couple across the pond had this love in the palm of their hand ... and they recklessly threw it away.

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wed in May 2018 they were riding a wave of affection that could have washed them through the doors of St George's Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

They were the royal rising stars, with 18 million Brits watching the nuptials and their popularity continued soaring all through their 2018 tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand.

But in 2020 Harry and Meghan dropped the Instagram bombshell that they were stepping "back as 'senior' members" of the British royal family to become financially independent - dubbed 'Megxit'.

And from then on our adoration has waned, as their obsession with 'brand', wealth and gossiping on TV and in books like 'Spare' about 'The Firm' soared.

Their popularity plunged to its lowest ever last May when Harry publicly attacked King Charles.

In an extraordinary TV interview he claimed the monarch was snubbing him due to his demands for taxpayer-funded 24-hour Metropolitan Police protection. Some called his interview "scorched earth" and "deluded".

The Met is already facing a £20 million budget gap for 2026-27 and warned that staffing 'changes' may be required without extra funding.

Ironically £20 million is reportedly around the exact same sum Harry made from his autobiography. He's no longer a working royal, but clearly still feels the Met should ring-fence cash from their budget to watch over them.

You can hear the 999 operator now: "Sorry sir, I appreciate there's a screaming stranger hacking your front door with a bloodied axe, but Prince Harry wants us to escort him and Meghan to Waitrose to buy some organic celeriac steaks and an artisan, vegan cheeseboard...."

This week Harry's been sat in the High Court in a legal dispute with a media outlet, while Meghan is in Montecito, California, planning her next Netflix offering amid rumours her 'With Love, Meghan' lifestyle show has been axed.

On the flight home Harry should dig out the video of a relaxed Kate and William doing their duty with a smile, being greeted with joy and jubilation. I wonder if deep down he'll ponder: "That could have been us."