William and Kate mingle with Edward and Sophie’s family as a group of nine

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been accused of accidentally disregarding the ‘rule of six’ after meeting Prince Edward and his family in Sandringham.

William and Kate, along with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, are said to have ‘mingled’ with the Prince’s uncle, his wife Sophie, and their children Lady Louise Windsor, 17. and 13-year-old James Viscount Severn at a public attraction.

The two groups visited Luminate, a Christmas-themed woodland walk in the Queen’s Norfolk residence, on Sunday evening, along with the audience.

Both arrived separately, with royal sources stressing that it was not intended to meet as a group of nine.

But as they made their way down the mile-long, one-way lit path, the two families were seen and photographed mixing and chatting several times, although they adhered to social aloofness.

The Queen’s residence in Norfolk is governed by level 2 rules, which means that only six people – including children – can meet outside if they are not from the same household or support bell.

The regulations clearly state: ‘Friends and family that you do not live with (or have no support bubble with) can be seen outside, in a group of maximum six. This limit of six includes children of all ages. ‘

They also say the police can take action against those who gather in larger groups – a fixed fine of £ 200 for the first offense, doubling for each subsequent offense to £ 6,400.

An astonished member of the audience, biting the families on their phones, told the Mail that they had seen the families ‘mingle’ several times. One of those photos clearly shows the party of nine, followed by bodyguards, walking together in a group.

William is standing in front carrying Louis on his shoulders with George by his side, Kate is with Charlotte and Sophie, who has James behind her, with the Earl of Wessex and his daughter Louise on the back.

Another photo shows William holding hands with George and Charlotte, walking alongside Sophie, James and Louise.

A visitor who saw the group said: “They clearly violated Covid rules, in my opinion, because there were nine of them from two separate households. Obviously they were all having a good night out. You could tell the royal youths were having a great time.

But I had to remember that it was one rule for them and another for the rest of us. It was really blatant. ‘

Last night, royal sources suggested that any contact was accidental.

They said, ‘The two families were given separate consecutive slots to visit the trail just before it opened to the general public. They arrived and left in their own family groups.

“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.”

William and Kate, both 38, have spent the past ten days with their children at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate.

They had hoped to spend the holidays with Kate’s family in Berkshire, but were forced to cancel their plans due to the pandemic.

They traveled to Anmer before the level 3 and level 4 rules were introduced to avoid non-essential travel from London, where they live at Kensington Palace.

Edward and his family traveled to Norfolk from their home in Bagshot Park in Surrey.

Family tickets for the Luminate experience cost £ 52. The two groups were given a starting time between 4:15 PM and 4:30 PM.

The path is lit by displays to music with trees lit in different colors and flickering fairies in cages. Several signs remind walkers of the need for social distance.

A staff member of the attraction said they joked with George and Charlotte that tigers were in the forest as they passed by.

At another stage, the families were seen in a refreshment room, gathering around fire pits where they roasted marshmallows purchased from a stall.

George, wearing a flat cap and green wellies, was also seen through a maze.

He was watched by Kate wearing jeans, ankle boots, a short jacket and a brimmed hat.

William, who also wore a flat cap and rubber boots with a pink scarf over his jacket, was photographed entering the fun by sticking his head above the maze.

He was followed by Sophie and Louise with takeout drinks in hand, and Edward.

Detectives who followed ordered members of the public not to take photos, saying the royals were “ on a private visit. ”

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said the rule of six means families should not stop talking to other families if they run into them on the street.

“ The rule of six is ​​about making sure people are conscientious and don’t endanger the health of others, ” she added when asked if a family of four, in conversation with another family of four, .

But lawyers have argued that the interpretation is “wrong,” as the prohibition applies to meetings “run by a company, charity, benevolent or philanthropic, or government agency.”

There is also much confusion as to whether the rule of six includes young children, as is the case in Level Two.