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 inadvertently flouting the ‘rule of six’ after meeting Prince Edward and his family at Sandringham.

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

The two groups were visiting Luminate, a Christmas-themed walk in the woods at Queen’s Norfolk residence, along with members of the public on Sunday night.

They both arrived separately, and royal sources emphasized that there was no intention of meeting as a group of nine.

But as they made their way down the mile-long lighted one-way road, the two families were seen and photographed mingling and chatting on various occasions, while maintaining social distancing.

The Queen’s Norfolk residence is covered by Level Two rules, which means that only six people, including children, can meet outside if they are not from the same household or support bubble.

The regulations clearly state: ‘You can see friends and family you don’t live with (or don’t have a bubble of support with) outdoors, in a group of no more than six. This limit of six includes children of any age.

They also say that the police can take action against those who gather in larger groups: a fixed penalty notice of £ 200 for the first offense, which is doubled for each additional offense up to £ 6,400.

An astonished member of the public, who captured the families on his phone, told the Mail that they had seen the families “mix” several times. One of those photographs clearly shows the group of nine, followed by bodyguards, walking together as a group.

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

Another image shows William, hand in hand with George and Charlotte, walking alongside Sophie, James and Louise.

A visitor who saw the group said: ‘In my opinion they were clearly breaking Covid rules, because there were nine of them from two separate households. Everyone was obviously having a fun night. You could tell the royal youths were having a great time.

But I couldn’t help but think that it was a rule for them and another for the rest of us. It was really quite cheeky. ‘

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

They said: ‘The two families were given separate consecutive spaces to visit the trail just before it opened to the general public. They came and went in their own family groups.

“As anyone with young children will know, there were times in the 90-minute walk where it was difficult to keep the two family groups apart, particularly at bottlenecks along the way.”

William and Kate, both 38, have been staying with their children at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate for the past ten days.

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

They traveled to Anmer before Level Three and Four rules were introduced preventing non-essential travel from London, where they live in 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 start time of between 4:15 PM and 4:30 PM.

The trail is illuminated by displays to music with illuminated trees in different colors and twinkling fairies in cages. Several signs remind walkers of the need for social distancing.

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

At another stage, families were seen in a refreshment area, gathered around campfires where they toasted marshmallows bought from a stall.

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

He was observed by Kate, who was wearing jeans, ankle boots, a short jacket and a fedora.

William, who also wore a flat cap and wellies with a pink scarf over his jacket, was photographed getting into the fun by poking his head above the maze.

He was followed by Sophie and Louise grabbing take out drinks, and Edward.

Detectives following him ordered members of the public not to take photographs, saying the royal family was “on a private visit.”

Interior Minister Priti Patel has said the rule of six means that families should not stop to chat with other families if they meet them on the street.

“ The rule of six is ​​about making sure people are aware and do not put other people’s health at risk, ” he added, when asked if a family of four, speaking to another family of four, would be breaking the rules.

But lawyers have argued that the interpretation is “incorrect”, as the ban applies to meetings “run by a company, a charitable, charitable or philanthropic institution or a public body.”

There is also much confusion as to whether the rule of six includes young children, which occurs at Level Two.