It looks like Prince William and Kate Middleton could be on the naughty list this year.
The royal couple and their three children were seen on a walk with Prince Edward’s family this week, raising allegations that they were ignoring the government’s COVID-19 restriction called the “Rule of Six,” which limits groups of people larger than six forbids to get together.
William and Kate, along with their children – Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2 – were spotted visiting the Christmas-themed Luminate walk at Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate on Sunday, according to the Daily Mail. Walking alongside them at various points were William’s uncle Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and their two children, Lady Louise, 17, and James, Viscount Severn, 13.
Luminate Sandringham is a mile-long trail that is open to locals until mid-January and offers a scenic walk, a fire pit, and stalls selling holiday food and drink.
In their effort to follow the rules, “the two families were given separate consecutive slots to visit the trail before it opened to the general public,” a royal source told the Daily Mail.
“They came and left in their own family groups,” the source continued.
However, “As anyone with young children will know, there were times during the 90-minute walk when it was difficult to tell the two family groups apart, especially at bottlenecks on the trail.”
Online commentators were not that kind about apparent rule-breaking, accidental or not.
“One rule for them and another for us,” one said on Twitter while another commented, “I think following the rules is just for the plebs.”
The Cambridges spend the holidays at their Anmer Hall country house in Norfolk, which is a Tier 2 lockdown. That means that only six people can meet outside if they are not from the same household.
They recently completed a train journey across the UK to thank key workers and meet communities grappling with the coronavirus.