Kate MiddletonandPrince William’s recent festive family night out is being met with controversy after they’ve been accused of breaking the U.K. government’s “Rule of Six” amid the latest COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
The couple and their children —Prince George, 7,Princess Charlotte, 5, andPrince Louis2 — were spotted visiting the Christmas-themed Luminate trail walk onQueen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate on Sunday alongside William’s unclePrince Edward,Sophie, Countess of Wessexand their two children, Lady Louise, 17, and James, Viscount Severn, 13.
Luminate Sandringham, a mile-long path around the stunning woodlands and Country Park at Sandringham, is open to locals through mid-January. People can buy tickets and enjoy the trail, a fire pit for toasting marshmallows and stalls with festive food and drinks.
Prince Edward, James Viscount Severn, Lady Louise and Sophie.Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage
“The two families were given separate consecutive slots to visit the trail just before it opened to the general public,” royal sources told theDaily Mail. “They arrived and departed in their own family groups. 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.”
The Cambridges are spending the Christmas holiday at their country home of Anmer Hall in Norfolk. Norfolk has been placed into Tier 2 lockdown, which means that only six people can meet up outdoors if they are not from the same household.
“You can see friends and family you do not live with (or do not have a support bubble with) outdoors, in a group of no more than 6. This limit of 6 includes children of any age,” according to theU.K. government guidelines.
Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty
William and Kate’s Christmas plans likely changedafter the strict COVID-19 restrictions were put in place for much of England due to an infectious new coronavirus strain in the U.K.
Much of the U.K. is under Tier 4 lockdown, which bans all households from mixing and overnight stays away from home. A travel ban has also been introduced, with no exit or entry from the Tier 4 regions.
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The Cambridge family’s 2020 Christmas card.Matt Porteous / The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/Kensington Palace via Getty
After it was announced thatQueen Elizabeth had canceledthe royal family’s annual holiday celebration at her Sandringham estate, it was speculated that the Cambridges would ring in the holiday with Kate’s family in Bucklebury, Berkshire. But Berkshire, where Mike and Carole Middleton live, and London, where Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton and husband James Matthews live, is in Tier 4 lockdown.
William, Kate and the kids have spent much of the pandemic at their country home in Norfolk, and it is thought that they’ll remain there throughout the holiday season.
source: people.com
