Alarming evidence has reached the Royalist that Kate Middleton may in fact be a mere mortal after all, after her second post-natal appearance yesterday revealed a shocking truth – Kate’s going gray.

For amidst all the excitement about Kate’s mumzy new hair-do as revealed on yesterday's London poppy-day walkabout, complete with a Farrah Fawcettish 70s wave, an (admittedly uncharitable) zoom-in on her new hair-do reveals the shocking truth; a little cluster of gray roots all too visible around the new centre-parting.

Somebody send that colorist to the tower.

Personally I started going gray within about two days of having my first child, a fact that is now all–too visible without the benefit of high definition zoom lenses followign me every time I went outside and journalists enlarging photos of me, so I do feel for the girl. As a man, I couldn’t even blame it on the hormones. But I do know there’s nothing like that first sign of mortality to really ruin your week.

Hair colorists remain divided as to whether it is hormonal changes during pregnancy or stress which causes hair to go gray following pregnancy, however, the sudden onset of post-partum gray hair is far from unusual. In fact, a woman’s hair can undergo a whole range of changes during and after pregnancy. While most are related to color (blond to brown, brown to gray) it can also be the texture which changes – and sadly most people don’t find their hair changing from coarse curly strands to the fine and downy straight stuff their daughters sport, if you know what I mean.

Stylist Alexandra Zdrazkova of the Michaeljohn salon in Mayfair tells The Royalist: "Kate's grey hairs are probably caused by a hormonal change, which happens to a lot of people after they get pregnant. She only has a few gray hairs and they could be covered easily by a tint."

Many women do also try and avoid or at least reduce the frequency with which they dye their hair during pregnancy and when they are breast-feeding, so this may also go some way to explaining the appearance of a few silvery strands in Kate’s otherwise perfect silken locks.

She still looks way better than she has any right to – but we feel sure this is one look that won’t be benefiting from the famous ‘Kate effect’.