Skip to main contentSkip to footer
Did Kate Middleton and Prince William break COVID-19 rules at holiday attraction© Getty Images

Did Kate Middleton and Prince William break COVID-19 rules at holiday attraction with their kids?

The Cambridges and Wessexes were photographed walking the Christmas-themed trail on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate


UPDATED DECEMBER 22, 2020 12:30 PM EST

 Kate Middleton  and  Prince William  have been accused of breaking COVID-19 rules. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with their children  Prince George ,  Princess Charlotte  and  Prince Louis  , were pictured at the Christmas-themed Luminate winter light trail on the  Queen ’s Sandringham Estate with Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and their kids—Lady Louise, 17, and James, Viscount Severn, 13. Photos obtained by The Daily Mail show the royal group of nine visiting the public attraction on Sunday evening.

The Cambridges and Wessexes have been accused of breaking COVID 19 restrictions© Getty Images
The Cambridges and Wessexes have been accused of breaking COVID 19 restrictions

Norfolk, where Sandringham is located, is under Tier Two restrictions. Per the UK’s Tier Two guidelines, individuals can see friends and family they do not live with “outdoors, in a group of no more than 6”—the limit of six includes children of any age. There are also exceptions where people can gather in groups larger than six outdoors, including “supervised activities provided for children, and those who were under 18 on 31 August 2020” and for “parent and toddler groups – up to a maximum of 15 people (under-5s do not count towards this limit). These cannot take place in private dwellings,” according to the UK Government’s website.

Royal sources stressed to The Daily Mail that the Cambridges and Wessexes arrived separately to Luminate Sandringham, and that any contact between the families “was inadvertent.” “The two families were given separate consecutive slots to visit the trail just before it opened to the general public. They arrived and departed in their own family groups,” royal sources told the news outlet.

The Cambridges are currently staying at their country home in Norfolk© Matt Porteous
The Cambridges are currently staying at their country home in Norfolk

They added, “As anyone with young children will know, there were moments on the 90-minute walk where it was difficult to keep the two family groups apart, particularly at bottlenecks on the trail.”

William, Kate and their children are currently staying at their country home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk. The Cambridges left Kensington Palace before Tier 4 restrictions were announced for London.