THE Earl and Countess of Strathearn and their children have been pictured at an outdoor event with the Earl of Wessex and his family, breaching the Rule of Six.
William and Kate took their family to Luminate, a night-time woodland walk on the Queen’s Sandringham estate, on Sunday and were photographed at one point walking at a distance with Edward and Sophie and their two children.
Norfolk is in Tier 2 and, under restrictions, only up to six people can meet up outside – known as the Rule of Six.
In one image published in the Daily Mail, William leads the group with his youngest son, Prince Louis, on his shoulders. Prince George and Princess Charlotte are close by, with Kate behind them and Sophie and her son, Viscount Severn, alongside.
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Lady Louise follows behind her mother, the countess, with the earl at the back, making nine people in total.
The Cambridges and the Wessexes arrived separately but were seen “mingling” together several times, according to a member of the public who took photographs.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex live in Bagshot Park in Surrey, which was put into Tier 4 on Sunday, with residents of this tier asked not to leave home unless they have a reasonable excuse.
It is understood the couple and their family had left their home when it was still in Tier 2.
READ MORE: SNP MP: Kate and William's visit sends out wrong and confusing signals
William and Kate live close to Sandringham in their country home, Anmer Hall, and it is thought they moved to the residence from their London home at Kensington Palace after the school holidays began.
A source at Sandringham said: “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.
“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.”
READ MORE: Covid: William and Kate criticised for 'unnecessary' Wales visit
Graham Smith, from the organisation Republic – which campaigns for an elected head of state, said: “I think the royals should not be relying on the inability of the authorities to enforce the law, they have a responsibility to show a higher standard and to make sure they are beyond reproach.”
He added: “When we see Sky staff rightly being sanctioned for breaching the rules, people who are in the public eye and have to set an example, then there ought to be some way of doing the same with William and Kate.”
It comes after William and Kate faced criticism for travelling around Britain on their private train for a royal tour earlier this month.
The couple crossed the Border to Scotland, which the public are advised only to do for essential purposes, and went to Edinburgh while it was in level 3. People should not travel to or from level 3 areas unless for essential purposes.
They also travelled to Wales, where the health minister Vaughan Gething said: "I'd rather that no-one was having unnecessary visits and people always have divisive views about the monarchy, but their visit isn't an excuse for people to say that they are confused about what they are being asked to do."
The First Minister said she had advised the royal household of the Covid restrictions before they embarked on the trip.
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